Gravitational Stirring in Planetary Debris Disks

Abstract

We describe gravitational stirring models of planetary debris disks using a new multi-annulus planetesimal evolution code. The current code includes gravitational stirring and dynamical friction; future studies will include coagulation, fragmentation, Poynting-Robertson drag, and other physical processes. We use the results of our calculations to investigate the physical conditions required for small bodies in a planetesimal disk to reach the shattering velocity and begin a collisional cascade. Our results demonstrate that disks composed primarily of bodies with a single size will not undergo a collisional cascade which produces small dust grains at 30-150 AU on timescales of 1 Gyr or smaller. Disks with a size distribution of bodies reach conditions necessary for a collisional cascade in 10 Myr to 1 Gyr if the disk is at least as massive as a minimum mass solar nebula and if the disk contains objects with radii of 500 km or larger. The estimated 500 Myr survival time for these disks is close to the median age of roughly 400 Myr derived for nearby stars with dusty disks.

23 pages of text + 16 Figures; to appear in the Astronomical Journal, January 2001

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• The Age of Beta Pic
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