Inclination Excitation of Solar System Debris Disk due to Stellar Flybys
| Autor: | Nathaniel W. H. Moore, Fred C. Adams, Gongjie Li |
|---|---|
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2020 |
| Předmět: |
Solar System
010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences Population FOS: Physical sciences Astrophysics 01 natural sciences 0103 physical sciences Cluster (physics) Astrophysics::Solar and Stellar Astrophysics education 010303 astronomy & astrophysics Astrophysics::Galaxy Astrophysics 0105 earth and related environmental sciences Physics Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP) education.field_of_study Debris disk Number density Astronomy and Astrophysics Planetary system Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies Stars Space and Planetary Science Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA) Physics::Space Physics Particle Astrophysics::Earth and Planetary Astrophysics Astrophysics - Earth and Planetary Astrophysics |
| Popis: | Most stars form in clusters where relatively close encounters with other stars are common and can leave imprints on the orbital architecture of planetary systems. In this paper, we investigate the inclination excitation of debris disk particles due to such stellar encounters. We derive an analytical expression that describes inclination excitation in the hierarchical limit where the stellar flyby is distant. We then obtain numerical results for the corresponding particle inclination distribution in the non-hierarchical regime using a large ensemble of N-body simulations. For encounters with expected parameters, we find that the bulk inclination of the disk particles remains low. However, a distinct high inclination population is produced by prograde stellar encounters for particles with final pericenter distances above $50$AU. The maximum extent $i_t$ of the inclination distribution scales with the inclination of the encounter $\sin(i_s)$ for massive star flybys with low incoming velocity. The inclination distribution of observed trans-Neptunian objects places constraints on the dynamical history of our Solar System. For example, these results imply an upper limit on product of the number density $n$ of the solar birth cluster and the Sun's residence time $\tau$ of the form $n\tau\lesssim8\times10^4$ Myr pc$^{-3}$. Stronger constraints can be derived with future observational surveys of the outer Solar System. Comment: 15 pages, 12 figures. This paper has been accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal, and comments are welcome |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
| Externí odkaz: |
|