What growth phase describes the disproportionately fast accretion of material by the largest planetesimals in a region?
Answer
Runaway growth
Runaway growth is a highly competitive phase in planetesimal evolution characterized by accelerating size differences. The largest bodies in a local area possess a superior gravitational cross-section, meaning they are geometrically more likely to encounter and accrete available material compared to their smaller neighbors. This creates a positive feedback loop, similar to a snowball effect, where the bigger objects grow exponentially faster than the smaller ones, leading to the rapid formation of the next stage of planetary construction, the protoplanet.
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