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Session 8 - Planets and Comets.
Display session, Monday, June 08
Atlas Ballroom,
The dissolution of giant planets within stellar envelopes is investigated as a possible mechanism for enhancing the metallicities of the parent stars of extrasolar planetary systems. Three-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations of a planet on an initially circular orbit at the stellar surface (the result of tidal interactions with the protoplanetary disk and the star) are presented. The simulations indicate that the envelope of a Saturn-like giant planet can be completely stripped in the outer convection zone of a 1 M_ødot star. In contrast, a more massive Jupiter-like giant planet is not fully stripped until it has plunged beneath the base of the convection zone. Assuming that the planet's heavy elements are concentrated mainly to its core, the accretion of a Saturn-mass giant planet is more likely to cause a significant metallicity enhancement of the parent star. Additional simulations examining the effect of parent star mass on the disintegration of the planet will be presented, and the implications with regard to planet formation and orbital migration will also be discussed.
