Implications of Captured Interstellar Objects for Panspermia and Extraterrestrial Life

Abstract

We estimate the capture rate of interstellar objects by means of three-body gravitational interactions. We apply this model to the Sun-Jupiter system and the Alpha Centauri A\&B binary system, and find that the radius of the largest captured object is a few tens of km and Earth-sized respectively. We explore the implications of our model for the transfer of life by means of rocky material. The interstellar comets captured by the "fishing net" of the Solar system can be potentially distinguished by their differing orbital trajectories and ratios of oxygen isotopes through high-resolution spectroscopy of water vapor in their tails.

Published in The Astronomical Journal, 10 pages, 0 figures

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• Interstellar Now! Missions to and Sample Returns from Nearby Interstellar Objects
• The Habitability of the Galactic Bulge
• A halo of trapped interstellar matter surrounding the solar system
• Turning up the heat on `Oumuamua
• Three-body capture, ejection, and the demographics of bound objects in binary systems
• Prospects for Life on Temperate Planets Around Brown Dwarfs
• Feasibility of Detecting Interstellar Panspermia in Astrophysical Environments
• Implications of Abiotic Oxygen Buildup for Earth-like Complex Life
• Chasing Nomadic Worlds: A New Class of Deep Space Missions
• Capture of the free-floating planets and primordial black holes into protostellar clouds
• Exporting Terrestrial Life Out of the Solar System with Gravitational Slingshots of Earthgrazing Bodies
• A planet or primordial black hole in the outer region of the Solar system and the dust flow near Earth orbit