Steven Soter 2006 The Astronomical Journal 132 2513 doi:10.1086/508861
Steven Soter1,2
Show affiliationsA planet is an end product of disk accretion around a primary star or substar. I quantify this definition by the degree to which a body dominates the other masses that share its orbital zone. Theoretical and observational measures of dynamical dominance reveal gaps of 4-5 orders of magnitude separating the eight planets of our solar system from the populations of asteroids and comets. The proposed definition dispenses with upper and lower mass limits for a planet. It reflects the tendency of disk evolution in a mature system to produce a small number of relatively large bodies (planets) in nonintersecting or resonant orbits, which prevents collisions between them.
accretion, accretion disks; solar system: formation; solar system: general
Issue 6 (2006 December)
Received 2006 August 16, accepted for publication 2006 September 4
Published 2006 November 2
Steven Soter 2006 The Astronomical Journal 132 2513
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