DDA 33rd Meeting, Mt. Hood, OR, April 2002
Session 7. Posters
Monday, April 22, 2002, 7:00pm

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[7.12] Damping of Terrestrial Planet Eccentricities by Density Wave Interactions with a Remnant Gas Disk

C. B. Agnor (University of Colorado/Southwest Research Institute), W. R. Ward (Southwest Research Institute)

We examine the damping of terrestrial planet eccentricities via density wave interactions with a remnant gas disk which post-dated the accretionary epoch. A lower limit is estimated for the gas surface density present in the terrestrial zone required for acoustic damping to be effective and a simple model for describing the disk's influence on the planet eccentricities is presented. The results suggest that the terrestrial planet eccentricities could be reduced from values permitting crossing orbits to the present day values by a remnant disk with gas surface density of ~10-3-10-4 times the minimum mass solar nebula value and characteristic gas dissipation timescales of 106-107 years.

C.B.A acknowledges support from NASA's Graduate Student Research Program.


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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 34, #3
© 2002. The American Astronomical Society.