Gravitational Stirring in Planetary Debris Disks

Abstract

We describe gravitational stirring models of planetary debris disks using a new multiannulus 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 that 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 ∼400 Myr derived for nearby stars with dusty disks.