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S. N. Raymond, T. Quinn (University of Washington), J. I. Lunine (University of Arizona)
We present results from simulations of late stage planetary accretion, focusing on the delivery of volatiles (primarily water) to the terrestrial planets. Our simulations include both planetary ``embryos'' (defined as Moon to Mars sized protoplanets) and planetesimals, assuming that the embryos formed via oligarchic growth. We investigate volatile delivery as a function of Jupiter's mass, position and eccentricity, the position of the snow line, and the density (in solids) of the solar nebula.
In all simulations, we form 1-4 terrestrial planets inside 2 AU, which vary in mass and volatile content. In over 90% of the simulations we form a terrestrial planet between 0.8 and 1.5 AU, and in roughly one quarter of our simulations we form a potentially habitable planet between 0.9 and 1.1 AU. These planets range from dry worlds to ``water worlds'' with 100+ oceans of water (1 ocean = 1.5 x 1024 g), and vary in mass between 0.23 and 3.85 earth masses
We find that an eccentric Jupiter produces drier terrestrial planets with higher eccentricities than a circular one. In cases with Jupiter at 7 AU, we form what we call ``super embryos,'' 1-2 earth mass protoplanets which can serve as the accretion seeds for 2+ earth mass planets with large water contents.
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The author(s) of this abstract have provided an email address for comments about the abstract: raymond@astro.washington.edu
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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 36 #2
© 2004. The American Astronomical Soceity.