Giant planet formation: episodic impacts versus gradual core growth

Aims. We describe the growth of gas giant planets in the core accretion scenario. The core growth is not modeled as a gradual accretion of planetesimals but as episodic impacts of large mass ratios, i.e. we study impacts of 0.02–1 M⊕ onto cores of 1–15 M⊕. Such impacts could deliver the majority of solid matter in the giant impact regime. We focus on the thermal response of the envelope to the energy delivery. Previous studies have shown that sudden shut off of core accretion can dramatically speed up gas accretion. We therefore expect that giant impacts followed by periods of very low core accretion will result in a net increase in gas accretion rate. This study aims at modelling such a sequence of events and to understand the reaction of the envelope to giant impacts in more detail.