Where did temperatures drop low enough for volatile compounds to condense into solid ice grains, enabling giant planet cores to grow rapidly?
Answer
Beyond the frost line (or ice line).
The concept of the frost line, or ice line, is crucial to explaining the compositional difference between inner and outer planets. This boundary marks the distance from the central star where the ambient temperature drops sufficiently low for volatile compounds—such as water, methane, and ammonia—to transition from gas into solid ice grains. This abundance of solid material beyond this line allowed planetary cores to grow much larger, quickly exceeding the mass threshold necessary to gravitationally capture immense amounts of the surrounding light gases (hydrogen and helium), resulting in the formation of gas and ice giants.
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