What is the fate of an outer system protoplanet core that fails to capture a massive gaseous envelope before the gas disappears?
Answer
It remains as a large, icy/rocky body unable to attain gas giant status
The finalization of a gas giant depends crucially on the lifespan of the protoplanetary disk. Outer system protoplanet cores grow large rapidly due to abundant ice, but they must cross the critical mass threshold to begin enveloping light gas before the young star's solar wind and radiation pressure blow away the remaining gaseous material. If the core's growth is arrested by the dispersal of this gas, it is left behind as a substantial, but compositionally inert, body composed mainly of rock and ice, permanently barred from becoming a true gas giant.
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