Earth and Terrestrial Planet Formation

• Published in: The Early Earth Vol. 212; pp. 49 - 70
• Main Authors: Jacobson, Seth A, Walsh, Kevin J
• Format: Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Geophysical Union 2015; John Wiley & Sons, Inc
• Subjects: classical models; giant impact phase; grand tack model; solar system; terrestrial planet formation; truncated disk models
• ISBN: 9781118860571; 1118860578
• DOI: 10.1002/9781118860359.ch3

The growth and composition of earth is a direct consequence of planet formation throughout the solar system. This chapter discusses the known history of the solar system, the proposed stages of growth, and how the early stages of planet formation may be dominated by pebble growth processes. In the classical scenarios, the giant planets do not migrate, but they have significantly different orbits in each model due to different assumptions about past and future evolution of the Solar System. Truncated disk models assume that either the terrestrial disk does not extend out to the giant planets or that the migration of the giant planets truncates the disk. This Grand Tack model is the most successful and is described in the chapter. The chapter focuses on specific simulations that produce terrestrial planet systems most like the solar system.