How common are Earth-Moon planetary systems?

The Earth's comparatively massive moon, formed via a giant impact on the proto-Earth, has played an important role in the development of life on our planet. Here we study how frequently Earth-Moon planetary systems occur. We derive limits on the collision parameters that may guarantee the formation of a circumplanetary disk after a protoplanet collision that could form a satellite. Based on a large set of simulations, we observe potential moon forming impacts and conclude that giant impacts with the required energy and orbital parameters for producing a binary planetary system occur frequently with more than one in ten terrestrial planets hosting a massive moo