  The basic structure of the solar system is set by the presence of low-mass
terrestrial planets in its inner part and giant planets in its outer part. This
is the result of the formation of a system of multiple embryos with
approximately the mass of Mars in the inner disk and of a few multi-Earth-mass
cores in the outer disk, within the lifetime of the gaseous component of the
protoplanetary disk. What was the origin of this dichotomy in the mass
distribution of embryos/cores? We show in this paper that the classic processes
of runaway and oligarchic growth from a disk of planetesimals cannot explain
this dichotomy, even if the original surface density of solids increased at the
snowline. Instead, the accretion of drifting pebbles by embryos and cores can
explain the dichotomy, provided that some assumptions hold true. We propose
that the mass-flow of pebbles is two-times lower and the characteristic size of
the pebbles is approximately ten times smaller within the snowline than beyond
the snowline (respectively at heliocentric distance $r<r_{ice}$ and
$r>r_{ice}$, where $r_{ice}$ is the snowline heliocentric distance), due to ice
sublimation and the splitting of icy pebbles into a collection of
chondrule-size silicate grains. In this case, objects of original sub-lunar
mass would grow at drastically different rates in the two regions of the disk.
Within the snowline these bodies would reach approximately the mass of Mars
while beyond the snowline they would grow to $\sim 20$ Earth masses. The
results may change quantitatively with changes to the assumed parameters, but
the establishment of a clear dichotomy in the mass distribution of protoplanets
appears robust, provided that there is enough turbulence in the disk to prevent
the sedimentation of the silicate grains into a very thin layer.
