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Numerical simulations explore planetary orbits over 4 Gyr, finding distant trans-Neptunian objects and orbital configurations.
Numerical simulations of the evolution of the Solar system consisting at the initial stage of five, six, seven and eight outer planets, as well as a self-gravitating planetesimal disk, were carried out. The dynamical evolution of planetary systems was studied over a time interval of 4 Gyr. In most cases of numerical simulations, either the destruction of planetary systems or the transition of planets to orbits significantly different from modern orbits occurred. However, a number of successful variants were found in which the configuration of the orbits of the outer planets after 4 Gyr was close to the present Solar system. The ejection of additional planets can occur at all stages of the evolution of the Solar system. In the variant with eight planets, a case of an additional planet remaining in a distant trans-Neptunian orbit with a perihelion distance of q = 120 au was found. Despite the great diversity of evolutionary paths of systems with additional planets, distant trans-Neptunian objects were registered in all successful variants. A trend towards an increase in the number of surviving distant trans-Neptunian objects with an increase in the number of additional planets was noted.
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V. V. Emel’yanenko (2025) studied this question.
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