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Giant Impacts, LHB, and Planetary Evolution: A Comprehensive Review of Solar System Cataclysms
Abstract: Cataclysmic impact events represent the dominant, stochastic drivers shaping the fundamental composition, dynamics, and architecture of the Solar System. This comprehensive review synthesizes the evolution of planetary impact science, tracing the paradigm shift initiated by Eugene Shoemaker’s discovery of shocked quartz to the current era of high-fidelity numerical modeling. Planetary evolution is governed by…