Simulating the interplay between the snowline pebble flux and ongoing planet formation and migration
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Date
2026-04-16
Authors
Astrakhantsev, Danila
Krijt, Sebastiaan
Savvidou, Sofia
Bitsch, Bertram
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Published Version
Abstract
Pebble drift plays a central role in modern planet formation models. In this work we carry out planet formation simulations (including pebble accretion and migration) for a range of disc parameters to investigate (a) the impact of the snowline pebble mass flux on final planet orbits and masses, and (b) the back-reaction of growing and migrating planets on the snowline pebble fluxes in their natal discs. We find a strong correlation between the snowline pebble flux (at the time of protoplanet insertion) and the final planet mass. The correlation is continuous in discs with high turbulence levels ((Formula presented) ), but exhibits a step function at lower turbulence ((Formula presented) ), with giant planet formation requiring (initial) snowline pebble mass fluxes exceeding (Formula presented). We find qualitative agreement between pebble mass fluxes inferred for discs aged (Formula presented) and our planet-containing models, especially for larger discs ((Formula presented) 40 au), high (Formula presented) ((Formula presented) ), and low (Formula presented) ((Formula presented) ). Additionally, giant planets in high turbulence discs are found to perturb the snowline pebble flux only temporarily (for (Formula presented) ) due to them quickly growing and migrating across the snowline. Our simulations show that currently observed pebble fluxes can indeed be used to constrain planet formation simulations, emphasizing that planet formation via pebble accretion is broadly in agreement with the currently available constraints from disc evolution as provided by James Webb Space Telescope. © The Author(s) 2026. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Astronomical Society.
Description
Keywords
Back reaction , Formation model , Formation simulation , Orbits , Planet formation , Planet-disk interactions , Planets , Planets and satellites: dynamical evolution and stabilities , Planets and satellites: dynamical evolution and stability , Planets and satellites: formation , Planet–disc interactions , Protoplanetary discs , Protoplanetary disks , Satellites , Snowline , Space telescopes , Strong correlation , Turbulence , [Physics]
Citation
Astrakhantsev, D, Krijt, S, Savvidou, S & Bitsch, B 2026, 'Simulating the interplay between the snowline pebble flux and ongoing planet formation and migration', Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, vol. 548, no. 3, pp. 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stag721