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An empirical planetesimal belt radius–stellar luminosity relation

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Matrà, L., Marino, S., Kennedy, Grant M., Wyatt, M. C., Öberg, K. I. and Wilner, D. J. (2018) An empirical planetesimal belt radius–stellar luminosity relation. The Astrophysical Journal, 859 (1). 72. doi:10.3847/1538-4357/aabcc4 ISSN 0004-637X.

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/aabcc4

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Abstract

Resolved observations of millimeter-sized dust, tracing larger planetesimals, have pinpointed the location of 26 Edgeworth–Kuiper Belt analogs. We report that a belt’s distance R to its host star correlates with the star’s luminosity L ⋆, following R\propto {L}\star 0.19 with a low intrinsic scatter of ∼17%. Remarkably, our Edgeworth–Kuiper Belt in the solar system and the two CO snow lines imaged in protoplanetary disks lie close to this R–L ⋆ relation, suggestive of an intrinsic relationship between protoplanetary disk structures and belt locations. To test the effect of bias on the relation, we use a Monte Carlo approach and simulate uncorrelated model populations of belts. We find that observational bias could produce the slope and intercept of the R–L ⋆ relation but is unable to reproduce its low scatter. We then repeat the simulation taking into account the collisional evolution of belts, following the steady-state model that fits the belt population as observed through infrared excesses. This significantly improves the fit by lowering the scatter of the simulated R–L ⋆ relation; however, this scatter remains only marginally consistent with the one observed. The inability of observational bias and collisional evolution alone to reproduce the tight relationship between belt radius and stellar luminosity could indicate that planetesimal belts form at preferential locations within protoplanetary disks. The similar trend for CO snow line locations would then indicate that the formation of planetesimals or planets in the outer regions of planetary systems is linked to the volatility of their building blocks, as postulated by planet formation models.

Item Type: Journal Article
Subjects: Q Science > QB Astronomy
Divisions: Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Science > Physics
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): Circumstellar matter, Protoplanetary disks, Kuiper Belt
Journal or Publication Title: The Astrophysical Journal
Publisher: Institute of Physics Publishing, Inc.
ISSN: 0004-637X
Official Date: 24 May 2018
Dates:
DateEvent
24 May 2018Published
31 March 2018Accepted
Volume: 859
Number: 1
Article Number: 72
DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/aabcc4
Status: Peer Reviewed
Publication Status: Published
Access rights to Published version: Restricted or Subscription Access
Date of first compliant deposit: 6 June 2018
Date of first compliant Open Access: 6 June 2018
RIOXX Funder/Project Grant:
Project/Grant IDRIOXX Funder NameFunder ID
UNSPECIFIEDSmithsonian Institutionhttp://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100000014
Research FellowshipRoyal Societyhttp://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000288
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