
The rapidly expanding catalog of exoplanets reveals a striking diversity in planetary system architectures, characterized by the prevalence of super-Earths and mini-Neptunes, and distinctive features such as the "radius valley." While inward migration has long been established as a dominant process, particularly for hot Jupiters, the role of outward migration for low-mass planets remains less explored but increasingly recognized as crucial for shaping observed exoplanet demographics. This paper investigates how outward migration, driven by mechanisms like interactions with protoplanetary disk edges, pressure bumps, or resonant interactions, can fundamentally alter the final distribution of planetary masses and orbital periods. We synthesize current theoretical understanding and observational constraints, employing hydrodynamical and N-body simulations to model planetary system evolution. Our findings suggest that outward migration can prevent low-mass planets from spiraling into their host stars, facilitate their accumulation in specific regions of the disk, and contribute to the formation of systems with wider orbital separations. This mechanism offers compelling explanations for the observed paucity of very close-in super-Earths, the clustering of planets in certain orbital period ranges, and the architecture of resonant and non-resonant multi-planet systems. The study concludes that incorporating outward migration is essential for developing comprehensive planet formation models that accurately reproduce the rich tapestry of exoplanet demographics, providing critical insights into the formation history and evolution of planetary systems beyond our own.
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