A dynamical study on exocomets
- Author(s)
- Birgit Loibnegger, Rudolf Dvorak
- Abstract
Since the detection of on short time scales varying absorption features in spectra of β Pictoris (Beust et al., 1990) it is known that comets exist not only in the Solar System but also in other stellar systems. This fact is more or less obvious since comets are leftovers from the phase of planet formation.
In this work we show our theoretical approach according the topic of comets in extrasolar systems. We have chosen two confirmed planetary systems which differ in their architecture, meaning mostly the orbit of the most massive planet with respect to the others. Assuming that comets survived in these planetary systems we put a spherical cloud of massless bodies around the systems. Assuming further, that a perturbation by a nearby passing star put them on highly eccentric orbits we follow them approaching the planetary system. Due to interactions with the planets comets can get captured on low eccentricity orbits or are ejected from the system. We record close encounters and angles and velocities in case of an impact of a cometary body on a planet.
Depending on the architecture of the system we show the influence of the most massive planet on the orbit of captured comets respectively on the ejection of comets. We show statistics of stable orbits of comets and find that the orbit of the most massive planet in the system has an influence on the interaction with the comets.- Organisation(s)
- Department of Astrophysics
- Pages
- 125 - 136
- No. of pages
- 12
- Publication date
- 03-2017
- Austrian Fields of Science 2012
- 103003 Astronomy, 103004 Astrophysics
- Portal url
- https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/e88e3e46-5f16-4732-982d-cc08c9c3634b