The IAU's Definition - Hand-Waving Analytic Model
I put together a hand-waving argument based on Tremaine (1993) work on Oort cloud formation.
- Assumes only one planet in the system.
- Assumes diffusion process and ignores Jacobi constant.
- There are two ways in which a planet can remove a population of small bodies:
- It can gravitationally eject them (above blue):
- It can accrete all of them (above red):
Note that if Earth were at 100AU, it would not be a planet.
(However, this is unlikely)
i.e. Planet = Important!
