A Mixed Stirring Mechanism for Debris Discs with Giant and Dwarf Planetary Perturbations

Abstract

Debris discs consist of belts of bodies ranging in size from dust grains to planetesimals; these belts are visible markers of planetary systems around other stars that can reveal the influence of extrasolar planets through their shape and structure. Two key stirring mechanisms -- self-stirring by planetesimals and secular perturbation by an external giant planet -- have been identified to explain the dynamics of planetesimal belts; their relative importance has been studied independently, but are yet to be considered in combination. In this work we perform a suite of 286 N-body simulations exploring the evolution of debris discs over 1~Gyr, combining the gravitational perturbations of both dwarf planets embedded in the discs, and an interior giant planet. Our systems were somewhat modeled after the architecture of the outer Solar system: a Solar mass star, a single massive giant planet at 30~au ($M_{\mathrm{GP}}=$ 10 to 316~${\mathrm{M}}_{\oplus }$), and a debris disc formed by 100 massive dwarf planets and 1000 massless particles ($M_{\mathrm{DD}}=$ 3.16 to 31.6~${\mathrm{M}}_{\oplus }$). We present the evolution of both the disc and the giant planet after 1~Gyr. The time evolution of the average eccentricity and inclination of the disc is strongly dependent on the giant planet mass as well as on the remaining disc mass. We also found that efficient stirring is achieved even with small disc masses. In general, we find that a mixed mechanism is more efficient in the stirring of cold debris discs than either mechanism acting in isolation.

Accepted for publication in MNRAS. 11 pages, 6 figures (4 animated). Animated figures can be found at https://figshare.com/projects/Mixed_Stirring_of_Debris_Discs/136118

References in corpus (27)

• Array Programming with NumPy
• Gas- and dust evolution in protoplanetary disks
• Planetesimal formation starts at the snow line
• Variations on Debris Disks: Icy Planet Formation at 30-150 AU for 1-3 Solar Mass Main Sequence Stars
• Probing for Exoplanets Hiding in Dusty Debris Disks: Disk Imaging, Characterization, and Exploration with HST/STIS Multi-Roll Coronagraphy
• Planetesimal formation around the snow line in MRI-driven turbulent protoplanetary disks
• Highly structured disk around the planet host PDS 70 revealed by high-angular resolution observations with ALMA
• Protoplanetary disk rings and gaps across ages and luminosities
• SONS: The JCMT legacy survey of debris discs in the submillimetre
• The Size Distribution of Kuiper belt objects for D> 10 km
• ALMA observations of the $\eta$ Corvi debris disc: inward scattering of CO-rich exocomets by a chain of 3-30 M${}_{\oplus }$ planets?
• Five steps in the evolution from protoplanetary to debris disk
• Kuiper Belt-Like Hot and Cold Populations of Planetesimal Inclinations in the $\beta$ Pictoris Belt Revealed by ALMA
• Dynamical evolution of an eccentric planet and a less massive debris disc
• Solution to the debris disc mass problem: planetesimals are born small?
• Stirring in massive, young debris discs from spatially resolved Herschel images
• Planet populations inferred from debris discs: insights from 178 debris systems in the ISPY, LEECH and LIStEN planet-hunting surveys
• The Mass of Stirring Bodies in the AU Mic Debris Disk Inferred from Resolved Vertical Structure
• ALMA Detection of Extended Millimeter Halos in the HD 32297 and HD 61005 Debris Disks
• Multiple Rings of Millimeter Dust Emission in the HD 15115 Debris Disk
• From Pebbles and Planetesimals to Planets and Dust: the Protoplanetary Disk--Debris Disk Connection
• The unexpected narrowness of eccentric debris rings: a sign of eccentricity during the protoplanetary disc phase
• Constraining planetesimal stirring: how sharp are debris disc edges?
• Dust Populations in the Iconic Vega Planetary System Resolved by ALMA
• Herschel Observations of Dusty Debris Disks
• The formation of wide exoKuiper belts from migrating dust traps
• Giant Planets Can Act As Stabilizing Agents on Debris Disks

Cited by in corpus (4)

• The vertical structure of debris discs and the role of disc gravity: A primer using a simplified model
• Discovery of carbon monoxide emission from five debris disks around young A-type stars
• Testing the Impact of Planet-stirring, Self-stirring, and Mixed-stirring on Debris Disc Architecture: A Case Study of HD 16743
• The Longest-period Young Transiting Exoplanets. A Duo of Puffy Giants inside a Debris Disk