On oligarchic growth of planets in protoplanetary disks

In this paper we present a new semianalytical model of oligarchic growth of planets considering a distribution of planetesimal sizes, fragmentation of planetesimals in mutual collisions, sublimation of ices through the snow line, random velocities out of equilibrium and merging of planetary embryos. We show that the presence of several planetary embryos growing simultaneously at different locations in the protoplanetary disk affects the whole accretion history, specially for the innermost planets. The results presented here clearly indicate the relevance of considering a distribution of planetesimal sizes. Fragmentation occurring during planetesimal-planetesimal collisions represent only a marginal effect in shaping the surface density of solid material in the protoplanetary disc. (C) 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.