Journal
MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY
Volume 475, Issue 2, Pages 2452-2466Publisher
OXFORD UNIV PRESS
DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stx3361
Keywords
planets and satellites: dynamical evolution and stability; planets and satellites: formation; planets and satellites: individual: Phobos, Deimos, Mars; planets and satellites: terrestrial planets
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We show that a model in which Mars grows near Earth and Venus but is then scattered out of the terrestrial region yields a natural pathway to explain the low masses of the Martian moons Phobos and Deimos. In this scenario, the last giant impact experienced by Mars is followed by an extended period (tens to hundreds of Myr) of close passages by other planetary embryos. These close passages perturb and dynamically heat any system of forming satellites left over by the giant impact and can substantially reduce the mass in the satellite system (sometimes to zero). The close passage of massive perturbing bodies also offers the opportunity to capture small objects by three-body scattering. Both mechanisms lead to low-mass moon systems with a substantially collisional history.
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