Recent discoveries of extrasolar planets at small orbital radii, or with significant eccentricities, indicate that interactions between massive planets and the disks of gas and dust from which they formed are vital for determining the final shape of planetary systems. We show that if this interaction occurs at an early epoch, when the protoplanetary disc was still massive, then rapid planet growth through accretion causes an otherwise stable disc to fragment into additional planetary mass bodies when the planetary mass reaches 4-5 Jupiter masses. We suggest that such catastrophic planet formation could account for apparent differences in the mass function of massive planets and brown dwarfs, and the existence of young stars that appear to have dissipated their discs at an early epoch. Subsequent gravitational interactions will lead to planetary systems comprising a small number of massive planets in eccentric orbits.

Nature in press, short