The Moon is thought to have formed by a giant impact, but the nature of this event remains debated. Specifically, it is challenging to explain the identical isotopic compositions of the Moon and Earth for all non-volatile elements. High-angular momentum (high-AM) impacts have been proposed to mitigate this issue by creating a debris disk that is well mixed with the proto-planet. However, these impacts produce systems whose angular momentum (AM) is 2 to 3 times larger than that in the current Earth-Moon (L_EM), an excess that must be subsequently removed.

Evection resonance between the Earth, Moon, and Sun (occurring when the period of precession of the lunar perigee equals Earth’s orbital period) is the leading mechanism suggested to remove the excess angular momentum, but the efficiency depends highly on the tidal parameters of the early Earth.

We use a model that incorporates a realistic description of tides, such that it accounts for the viscosity variations in Earth’s mantle as the magma ocean solidifies and how these affect the lunar migration. We find that angular momentum loss is limited, suggesting that high-AM impacts may not be viable scenarios for the origin of the Earth-Moon system.