The-Eccentricity-Mass-Distribution-of-Exoplanets：Signatures-of_Different-Formation-Mechanisms？.pdfVIP

Astronomy Astrophysics manuscript no. paper˙v2 June 2, 2006 (DOI: will be inserted by hand later) The Eccentricity-Mass Distribution of Exoplanets: Signatures of Different Formation Mechanisms? Ignasi Ribas1,2 and Jordi Miralda-Escud´e2,3 1 Institut de Ci`encies de l’Espai – CSIC, Campus UAB, Facultat de Ci`encies, Torre C5 - parell - 2a planta, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain e-mail: iribas@ieec.uab.es 2 Institut d’Estudis Espacials de Catalunya/ICREA, Campus UAB, Facultat de Ci`encies, Torre C5 - parell - 2a planta, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain e-mail: miralda@ieec.uab.es 3 Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, NJ 08540, USA Abstract. We examine the distributions of eccentricity and host star metallicity of exoplanets as a function of their mass. Planets with M sin i 4 MJ have an eccentricity distribution consistent with that of binary stars, while planets with M sin i 4 MJ are less eccentric than binary stars and more massive planets. In addition, host star metallicities decrease with planet mass. The statistical significance of both of these trends is only marginal with the present sample of exoplanets. To account for these trends, we hypothesize that there are two populations of gaseous planets: the low-mass population forms by gas accretion onto a rock-ice core in a circumstellar disk and is more abundant at high metalliticities, and the high-mass population forms directly by fragmentation of a pre-stellar cloud. Planets of the first population form in initially circular orbits and grow their eccentricities later, and may have a mass upper limit from the total mass of the disk that can be accreted by the core. The second population may