Dispersing the Gaseous Protoplanetary Disc and Halting Type II Migration

Abstract

More than 30 extra-solar Jupiter-like planets have shorter periods than the planet Mercury. It is generally accepted that they formed further out, and migrated inwards. In order to be driven by tidal torques from the gaseous disc, the disc exterior to the planet had to contain about a planetary mass. The fact that the planets stopped migrating means that their outer disc was removed. We suggest that the outer disc was accreted by the planet. In this scenario, the endgame is a race. The planet survives if it accretes its outer disc before being accreted by the star. The winner is determined solely by the ratio of the mass of the outer disc to the local surface density of the disc.