2001MNRAS.325.1402D

Planets orbiting a planetesimal circumstellar disc can migrate inward from their initial positions because of dynamical friction between planets and planetesimals. The migration rate depends on the disc mass and on its time evolution. Planets that are embedded in long-lived planetesimal discs, having total mass of 10^–4-0.01M_☉, can migrate inward a large distance and can survive only if the inner disc is truncated or as a result of tidal interaction with the star. In this case the semimajor axis, a, of the planetary orbit is less than 0.1au. Orbits with larger a are obtained for smaller values of the disc mass or for a rapid evolution (depletion) of the disc. This model may explain not only several of the orbital features of the giant planets that have been discovered in recent years orbiting nearby stars, but also the metallicity enhancement found in several stars associated with short-period planets.