The Contribution of Dwarf Planets to the Origin of Low Inclination Comets by the Replenishment of Mean Motion Resonances in Debris Disks

Abstract

In this work we explore a new dynamical path for the delivery of low-inclination comets. In a configuration formed by an interior giant planet and an exterior massive debris disk, where the mass is accounted for by the 50 largest objects in the disk, the strongest mean motion resonances of the giant, located along the belt, are replenished with new material (test particles) due to the influence of the 50 massive objects. Once in resonance, slow chaotic diffusion stirs the orbital elements of the cometary nuclei enough to encounter the giant and to be scattered by it. When the disk is massive enough, both resonant and non-resonant particles are stirred quickly to encounter the giant and form an scattered disk component, greatly increasing the rate for the delivery of cometary material to the inner part of the system. This mechanism is applicable both to the solar system and extrasolar systems in general. Preliminary results, using a disk as massive as the classical Kuiper belt, indicate that the mechanism here proposed can account for about a tenth of the required injection rate to maintain the population of ecliptic comets in steady state. In a more massive belt of 0.25 M${}_{\oplus }$, an estimated rate of around 0.6 new comets per year is found. Such a high rate would pose a serious risk for the habitability of rocky interior planets, yet would resemble the late heavy bombardment that was present in the early solar system.

arXiv comment13 pages, 11 figures, Accepted for publication in the AJ

References in corpus (29)

• The Size Distribution of Trans-Neptunian Bodies
• Statistical Study of the Early Solar System's Instability with 4, 5 and 6 Giant Planets
• The Absolute Magnitude Distribution of Kuiper Belt Objects
• Properties of the Trans-Neptunian Belt: Statistics From the CFHT Survey
• Oort Cloud and Scattered Disc formation during a late dynamical instability in the Solar System
• Origin and Evolution of Short-Period Comets
• The Scattered Disk as the source of the Jupiter Family comets
• Neptune's Orbital Migration Was Grainy, Not Smooth
• The Kuiper Belt Luminosity Function from m(R)=21 to 26
• Likely Transiting Exocomets Detected by Kepler
• Scattering of small bodies by planets: a potential origin for exozodiacal dust ?
• A single sub-km Kuiper Belt object from a stellar Occultation in archival data
• KIC 8462852: Transit of a Large Comet Family
• Unbiased Inclination Distributions for Objects in the Kuiper Belt
• The scattering of small bodies in planetary systems: constraints on the possible orbits of cometary material
• Chaotic Diffusion of Resonant Kuiper Belt Objects
• The orbital distribution of trans-Neptunian objects beyond 50 au
• Interpreting the Densities of the Kuiper Belt's Dwarf Planets
• The Edgeworth-Kuiper debris disk
• Numerical modeling of the disruption of Comet D/1993 F2 Shoemaker-Levy 9 representing the progenitor by a gravitationally bound assemblage of randomly shaped polyhedra
• The Trojan Color Conundrum
• Modelling the KIC8462852 light curves: compatibility of the dips and secular dimming with an exocomet interpretation
• An updated estimate of the number of Jupiter-family comets using a simple fading law
• A Derivation of the Luminosity Function of the Kuiper Belt from a Broken Power-Law Size Distribution
• The TAOS Project: Upper Bounds on the Population of Small KBOs and Tests of Models of Formation and Evolution of the Outer Solar System
• OSSOS: IV. Discovery of a dwarf planet candidate in the 9:2 resonance with Neptune
• A dwarf planet class object in the 21:5 resonance with Neptune
• Dynamical Heating Induced by Dwarf Planets on Cold Kuiper Belt-like Debris Disks
• Giant Planets Can Act As Stabilizing Agents on Debris Disks

Cited by in corpus (4)

• Perspectives on the distribution of orbits of distant Trans-Neptunian Objects
• The Contribution of Dwarf Planets to the Origin of Jupiter Family Comets
• A Mixed Stirring Mechanism for Debris Discs with Giant and Dwarf Planetary Perturbations
• Testing the Impact of Planet-stirring, Self-stirring, and Mixed-stirring on Debris Disc Architecture: A Case Study of HD 16743