Formation Of Multi-planetary Systems Via Pebble Accretion In Externally Photoevaporating Discs In Stellar Clusters

In this paper, we investigate how external photo-evaporation influences the formation, dynamical evolution and the resultant planetary architecture of multi-planet systems born in stellar clusters.

We use a model of N-body simulations of multiple planet formation via pebble accretion coupled with a 1-D viscous disc subject to external photo-evaporation. We found that external photo-evaporation reduces the planet growth by reducing the pebble mass reservoir in discs containing multiple planetary embryos across a wide range of disc masses, and is particularly effective in suppressing planet growth in less initially massive discs (< 0.1 M⊙).

However, in more initially massive (≥ 0.1 M_⊕) discs planets lost due to planet-planet interactions dominate the outcome for final resultant total planet mass, masking the effects of external photo-evaporation in curbing the planet mass growth. In terms of the final resulting planetary architectures, the signature of external photo-evaporation is visible in less massive (< 0.1 M_⊙) discs, with fewer numbers and lower masses of planets surviving in discs irradiated with stronger external FUV radiation.

External photo-evaporation also leaves a signature for the wide orbit (> 10 au) terrestrial planets (0.1 – 1 M_⊕), with fewer planets populating this region for stronger FUV field. Finally, the 1st-order resonant pairs fraction decreases with stronger FUV radiation, although the resonant pairs occur rarely regardless of the FUV radiation environment, due to the small number of planets that survive gravitational encounters.

Lin Qiao, Gavin A. L. Coleman, Thomas J. Haworth

Comments: Accepted by MNRAS
Subjects: Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP)
Cite as: arXiv:2601.03963 [astro-ph.EP] (or arXiv:2601.03963v1 [astro-ph.EP] for this version)
https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2601.03963
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Submission history
From: Lin Qiao
[v1] Wed, 7 Jan 2026 14:24:46 UTC (6,629 KB)
https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.03963

Astrobiology, Astrochemistry,