Ejection of rocky and icy material from binary star systems: Implications for the origin and composition of 1I/`Oumuamua

Abstract

In single star systems like our own Solar system, comets dominate the mass budget of bodies that are ejected into interstellar space, since they form further away and are less tightly bound. However 1I/`Oumuamua, the first interstellar object detected, appears asteroidal in its spectra and in its lack of detectable activity. We argue that the galactic budget of interstellar objects like 1I/`Oumuamua should be dominated by planetesimal material ejected during planet formation in circumbinary systems, rather than in single star systems or widely separated binaries. We further show that in circumbinary systems, rocky bodies should be ejected in comparable numbers to icy ones. This suggests that a substantial fraction of additional interstellar objects discovered in the future should display an active coma. We find that the rocky population, of which 1I/`Oumuamua seems to be a member, should be predominantly sourced from A-type and late B-star binaries.

5 pages, 2 figures. accepted in MNRAS Letters, updated with reviewer comments

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Cited by in corpus (26)

• The Natural History of 'Oumuamua
• Spitzer Observations of Interstellar Object 1I/`Oumuamua
• The Feasibility and Benefits of In Situ Exploration of `Oumuamua-like objects
• The Dynamics of Interstellar Asteroids and Comets within the Galaxy: an Assessment of Local Candidate Source Regions for 1I/`Oumuamua and 2I/Borisov
• Origin of 1I/'Oumuamua. I. An ejected protoplanetary disk object?
• Subsurface Exolife
• 1I/'Oumuamua as an N2 ice fragment of an exo-Pluto surface: I. size and compositional constraints
• 1I/2017 'Oumuamua-like Interstellar Asteroids as Possible Messengers from the Dead Stars
• Spin Evolution and Cometary Interpretation of the Interstellar Minor Object 1I/2017 'Oumuamua
• Oort cloud Ecology II: Extra-solar Oort clouds and the origin of asteroidal interlopers
• Constraints on the Occurrence of 'Oumuamua-Like Objects
• Implications of Captured Interstellar Objects for Panspermia and Extraterrestrial Life
• Significant interstellar object production by close stellar flybys
• Interstellar Now! Missions to and Sample Returns from Nearby Interstellar Objects
• Linking the formation and fate of exo-Kuiper belts within solar system analogues
• Spinup and Disruption of Interstellar Asteroids by Mechanical Torques, and Implications for 1I/2017 U1 (`Oumuamua)
• Sculpting the circumbinary planet size distribution through resonant interactions with companion planets
• Interstellar planetesimals: potential seeds for planet formation?
• Inferring Late Stage Enrichment of Exoplanet Atmospheres from Observed Interstellar Comets
• Misaligned circumbinary disks as efficient progenitors of interstellar asteroids
• Collisional Elongation: Possible Origin of Extremely Elongated Shape of 1I/`Oumuamua
• Fitting the Light Curve of 1I/`Oumuamua with a Nonprincipal Axis Rotational Model and Outgassing Torques
• The New Astronomical Frontier of Interstellar Objects
• A Case Study of Interstellar Material Delivery: α Centauri
• Configuration of Single Giant Planet Systems Generating `Oumuamua-Like Interstellar Asteroids
• Preliminary Evidence That Protoplanetary Disks Eject More Mass Than They Retain