Overview
- Rice University researchers used hydrodynamic and dust-evolution simulations, publishing their results in Science Advances.
- The model indicates Jupiter formed within about 2 million years, opening a wide gap that split the protoplanetary disk into inner and outer zones.
- Higher-pressure ridges created dust traps that account for the 2–3 million-year age gap recorded in meteorites.
- By blocking inward flows of gas and dust, Jupiter likely kept terrestrial material from spiraling into the Sun and prevented super-Earth outcomes near 1 AU.
- The authors contend their framework may be the first to unite Jupiter’s growth, dust transport, and asteroid formation into a single explanation consistent with meteoritic evidence.