Iron/silicate fractionation and the origin of Mercury

Compared with the other terrestrial planets, Mercury has anomalously low mass and high iron content. Equilibrium condensation and inhomogeneous accretional models are not compatible with these properties, unless the solar nebula's thermal structure and history meet stringent conditions. Also, such models predict a composition which does not allow a presently molten core. It appears that most of the solid matter which originally condensed in Mercury's zone has been removed. The planet's composition may be explained if the removal process was only slightly more effective for silicates than for iron. It is proposed that planetesimal orbits in the inner solar nebula decayed because of gas drag. This process is a natural consequence of the non-Keplerian rotation of a centrally condensed nebula. A simple quantitative model shows good agreement with the observed mass distribution of the terrestrial planets. The rate of orbital decay is slower for larger and/or denser bodies, because of their smaller area-to-mass ratios. With plausible assumptions as to planetesimal sizes and compositions, this process can produce fractionation of the sense required to produce an iron-rich planet. Cosmogonical implications are discussed.