Suppression of type I migration by disk winds

Laboratoire Lagrange, Université Côte d’Azur, Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur, CNRS, , Bvd de l’Observatoire, CS 34229, 06304 Nice Cedex 4, France
e-mail: omasahiro@oca.eu

Received: 4 August 2015
Accepted: 16 October 2015

Abstract

Context. Planets less massive than Saturn tend to rapidly migrate inward in protoplanetary disks. This is the so-called type I migration. Simulations attempting to reproduce the observed properties of exoplanets show that type I migration needs to be significantly reduced over a wide region of the disk for a long time. However, the mechanism capable of suppressing type I migration over a wide region has remained elusive. The recently found turbulence-driven disk winds offer new possibilities.

Aims. We investigate the effects of disk winds on the disk profile and type I migration for a range of parameters that describe the strength of disk winds. We also examine the in situ formation of close-in super-Earths in disks that evolve through disk winds.

Methods. The disk profile, which is regulated by viscous diffusion and disk winds, was derived by solving the diffusion equation. We carried out a number of simulations and plot here migration maps that indicate the type I migration rate. We also performed N-body simulations of the formation of close-in super-Earths from a population of planetesimals and planetary embryos.

Results. We define a key parameter, K_w, which determines the ratio of strengths between the viscous diffusion and disk winds. For a wide range of K_w, the type I migration rate is presented in migration maps. These maps show that type I migration is suppressed over the whole close-in region when the effects of disk winds are relatively strong (K_w ≲ 100). From the results of N-body simulations, we see that type I migration is significantly slowed down assuming K_w = 40. We also show that the results of N-body simulations match statistical orbital distributions of close-in super-Earths.