Planetary accretion in circumstellar disks

The formation of terrestrial planets and the cores of Jovian planets is reviewed in the framework of the planetesimal hypothesis, wherein planets are assumed to grow via the pairwise accumulation of small solid bodies. Emphasis is placed on the dynamics of solid body accretion from kilometer size planetesimals to terrestrial type planets. This stage of planetary growth is least dependent on the characteristics of the evolutionary state of the central star. It is concluded that the evolution of the planetesimal size distribution is determined by the gravitationally enhanced collision cross-section, which favors collisions between planetesimals with smaller velocities. Runaway growth of the largest planetesimal in each accretion zone appears to be a likely outcome. The subsequent accumulation of the resulting protoplanets leads to a large degree of radial mixing in the terrestrial planet region, and giant impacts are probable.