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arXiv · 1204.1314

Circumbinary Planet Formation in the Kepler-16 system. I. N-body Simulations

Stefano Meschiari
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Abstract

The recently discovered circumbinary planets (Kepler-16 b, Kepler-34 b, Kepler-35 b) represent the first direct evidence of the viability of planet formation in circumbinary orbits. We report on the results of N-body simulations investigating planetesimal accretion in the Kepler-16 b system, focusing on the range of impact velocities under the influence of both stars' gravitational perturbation and friction from a putative protoplanetary disk. Our results show that planet formation might be effectively inhibited for a large range in semi-major axis (1.75 < a_P < 4 AU), suggesting that the planetary core must have either migrated from outside 4 AU, or formed in situ very close to its current location.

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Stefano Meschiari. 2012-04-05. Circumbinary Planet Formation in the Kepler-16 system. I. N-body Simulations. https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637x/752/1/71

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