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A.C. Quillen (University of Rochester), Stephen Thorndike (Alfred College)
The lifetime of interplanetary dust particles can be greatly increased when they are captured into mean-motion resonances with a planet as a result of radiation drag forces. To explore what can be learned from imaging and spectrascopic studies of extra solar debris disks, we numerically integrate dust semi-major axis and spatial distributions for extra solar systems with one planet, but vary its mass and eccentricity.
We find that the mean lifetime of captured particles in a mean-motion resonance depends on the particle size, but also decreases with increasing planet mass and planet eccentricity. Capture probabilities into major resonances, though dependent on the planet mass, are not as dependent on the particle size. We find that particles are efficiently trapped into strong resonances primarily when the planet mass is not low, (ratio of planet to stellar mass > 10-4), the planet eccentricity is low (less than 0.3) and the particle size is large (ratio of radiation to gravitational forces less than 0.2). For large, high eccentricity planets the dust distribution is dominated by the strongest resonances, however the edges in the dust distribution are sharper in the systems with low planet mass and low planet eccentricity. In these systems, even though the contrast levels are low, the sharp edges in the dust spatial distribution may provide spectroscopic signatures that result in detectable features in mid and far-infrared spectra.
This project was supported in part by NSF award PHY-9987413 for the REU program at the University of Rochester.
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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 34, #3< br> © 2002. The American Astronomical Soceity.