Secular interactions between inclined planets and a gaseous disk

Abstract

In a planetary system, a secular particle resonance occurs at a location where the precession rate of a test particle (e.g. an asteroid) matches the frequency of one of the precessional modes of the planetary system. We investigate the secular interactions of a system of mutually inclined planets with a gaseous protostellar disk that may contain a secular nodal particle resonance. We determine the normal modes of some mutually inclined planet-disk systems. The planets and disk interact gravitationally, and the disk is internally subject to the effects of gas pressure, self-gravity, and turbulent viscosity. The behavior of the disk at a secular resonance is radically different from that of a particle, owing mainly to the effects of gas pressure. The resonance is typically broadened by gas pressure to the extent that global effects, including large-scale warps, dominate. The standard resonant torque formula is invalid in this regime. Secular interactions cause a decay of the inclination at a rate that depends on the disk properties, including its mass, turbulent viscosity, and sound speed. For a Jupiter-mass planet embedded within a minimum-mass solar nebula having typical parameters, dissipation within the disk is sufficient to stabilize the system against tilt growth caused by mean-motion resonances.