THE FORMATION OF JUPITER: AN EXAMINATION OF MID-STAGE PLANETARY
DEVELOPMENT BY NUMERICAL SIMULATION
by Keith Rielage
USS/Senior Capstone/Honors Thesis
Miami University
May 1996
The kinetic "particle in the box" approach used in numerical simulations has
successfully modelled the formation of planetary embryos from planetesimals.
Such simulations have failed to produce an explanation for Jupiter's rapid
formation due to the use of two-body approximations and one-dimensional velocity
components. The analysis of the data produced by these early simulations at 1 A.U. and 5 A.U.
is discussed and methods of visualization are constructed. The runaway growth of
a planetary core is examined to determine the faults of these simulations and several
alternative methods are discussed. The importance of Jupiter's rapid formation
and problems associated with it are examined in detail.
This document was last modified on
Tuesday, 08-Sep-1998 16:33:08 EDT;
and has been accessed [an error occurred while processing this directive] times.
Send comments or suggestions to: