Close Stellar Encounters Research Articles

Free-floating Planets, Survivor Planets, Captured Planets, and Binary Planets from Stellar Flybys

In star clusters, close stellar encounters can strongly impact the architecture of a planetary system or even destroy it. We present a systematic study of the effects of stellar flybys on two-planet systems. When such a system experiences flybys, one or both planets can be ejected, forming free-floating planets (FFPs), captured planets (CPs) around the flyby star, and free-floating binary planets (BPs); the remaining single-surviving planets (SSPs) can have their orbital radii and eccentricities greatly changed. Through numerical experiments, we calculate the formation fractions (or branching ratios) of FFPs, SSPs, CPs, and BPs as a function of the pericenter distance of the flyby, and use them to derive analytical expressions for the formation rates of FFPs, SSPs, CPs and BPs in general cluster environments. We find that the production rates of FFPs and SSPs are similar (for the initial planet semimajor axis ratio a 1/a 2 = 0.6–0.8), while the rate for CPs is a few times smaller. The formation fraction of BPs depends strongly on a 1/a 2 and on the planet masses. For Jupiter-mass planets, the formation fraction of BPs is always less than 1% (for a 1/a 2 = 0.8) and typically much smaller (≲0.2% for a 1/a 2 ≲ 0.7). The fraction remains less than 1% when considering 4M J planets. Overall, when averaging over all flybys, the production rate of BPs is less than 0.1% of that of FFPs. We also derive the velocity distribution of FFPs produced by stellar flybys, and the orbital parameter distributions of SSPs, CPs, and BPs. These results can be used in future studies of exotic planets (including FFPs) and planetary systems.

Free-floating binary planets from ejections during close stellar encounters

Free-floating binary planets from ejections during close stellar encounters

Goodbye to Chi by Eye: A Bayesian Analysis of Photometric Binaries in Six Open Clusters

We present a robust methodology for identifying photometric binaries in star clusters. Using Gaia DR3, Pan-STARRS, and Two Micron All Sky Survey data, we self-consistently define the cluster parameters and binary demographics for the open clusters (OCs) NGC 2168 (M35), NGC 7789, NGC 6819, NGC 2682 (M67), NGC 188, and NGC 6791. These clusters span in age from ∼200 Myr (NGC 2168) to more than ∼8 Gyr (NGC 6791) and have all been extensively studied in the literature. We use the Bayesian Analysis of Stellar Evolution software suite to derive the age, distance, reddening, metallicity, binary fraction, and binary mass-ratio posterior distributions for each cluster. We perform a careful analysis of our completeness and also compare our results to previous spectroscopic surveys. For our sample of main-sequence stars with masses between 0.6 and 1 M ⊙, we find that these OCs have similar binary fractions that are also broadly consistent with the field multiplicity fraction. Within the clusters, the binary fraction increases dramatically toward the cluster centers, likely a result of mass segregation. Furthermore nearly all clusters show evidence of mass segregation within the single and binary populations. The OC binary fraction increases significantly with cluster age in our sample, possibly due to a combination of mass-segregation and cluster-dissolution processes. We also find a hint of an anticorrelation between binary fraction and cluster central density as well as total cluster mass, possibly due to an increasing frequency of higher-energy close stellar encounters that inhibit long-period binary survival and/or formation.

Dynamical aspects of Galactic habitability in N-body simulations

Abstract Recent studies of Galactic evolution revealed that the dynamics of the stellar component might be one of the key factors when considering galactic habitability. We run an N-body simulation model of the Milky Way, which we evolve for 10 Gyr, to study the secular evolution of stellar orbits and the resulting galactic habitability-related properties, i.e., the density of the stellar component and close stellar encounters. The results indicate that radial migrations are not negligible, even in a simple axisymmetric model with mild levels of dynamical heating, and that the net outward diffusion of the stellar component can populate galactic outskirts with habitable systems. Habitable environment is also likely even at sub-Solar galactocentric radii, because the rate of close encounters should not significantly degrade habitability. Stars that evolve from non-circular to stable nearly-circular orbits typically migrate outwards, settling down in a broad Solar neighborhood. The region between R ≈ 3 kpc and R ≈ 12 kpc represents the zone of radial mixing, which can blur the boundaries of the Galactic Habitable Zone, as it has been conventionally understood. The present-day stable population of the stars in the Solar neighborhood originates from this radial mixing zone, with most of the stars coming from the inner regions. The Solar system can be considered as a typical Milky Way habitable system because it migrated outwards from the metal-rich inner regions of the Disk and has a circular orbit in the present epoch. We conclude that the boundaries of the Galactic Habitable Zone cannot be sharply confined for a given epoch because of the mixing caused by the stellar migrations and secular evolution of stellar orbits.

Photoevaporation and Close Encounters: How the Environment around Cygnus OB2 Affects the Evolution of Protoplanetary Disks

In our Galaxy, star formation occurs in a variety of environments, with a large fraction of stars formed in clusters hosting massive stars. OB stars have an important feedback on the evolution of protoplanetary disks orbiting around nearby young stars and likely on the process of planet formation occurring in them. The nearby massive association Cyg OB2 is an outstanding laboratory to study this feedback. It is the closest massive association to our Sun and hosts hundreds of massive stars and thousands of low-mass members, both with and without disks. In this paper, we analyze the spatial variation of the disk fraction (i.e., the fraction of cluster members bearing a disk) in Cyg OB2 and study its correlation with the local values of far-ultraviolet (FUV) and extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) radiation fields and the local stellar surface density. We present definitive evidence that disks are more rapidly dissipated in the regions of the association characterized by intense local UV fields and large stellar density. In particular, the FUV radiation dominates disk dissipation timescales in the proximity (i.e., within 0.5 pc) of the O stars. In the rest of the association, EUV photons potentially induce a significant mass loss from the irradiated disks across the entire association, but the efficiency of this process is reduced at increasing distances from the massive stars owing to absorption by the intervening intracluster material. We find that disk dissipation due to close stellar encounters is negligible in Cyg OB2 and likely to have affected 1% or fewer of the stellar population. Disk dissipation is instead dominated by photoevaporation. We also compare our results to what has been found in other young clusters with different massive populations, concluding that massive associations like Cyg OB2 are potentially hostile to protoplanetary disks but that the environments where disks can safely evolve in planetary systems are likely quite common in our Galaxy.

Radial distribution of distant trans-Neptunian objects points to Sun’s formation in a stellar cluster

The Scattered Disk Objects (SDOs) are a population of trans-Neptunian bodies with semimajor axes 50<a≲1000 au and perihelion distances q≳30 au. The detached SDOs with orbits beyond the reach of Neptune (roughly q>35 au) are of special interest here as an important constraint on the early evolution of the outer Solar System. The semimajor axis profile of detached SDOs at 50–500 au, as characterized from the Dark Energy Survey (DES), is radially extended, but previous dynamical models of Neptune’s early migration produce a relatively compact profile. This problem is most likely related to Sun’s birth environment in a stellar cluster. We perform new dynamical simulations that account for cluster effects and show that the orbital distribution of SDOs can be explained if a particularly close stellar encounter occurred early on (e.g., M dwarf with the mass ≃0.2M⊙ approaching the Sun at ≃200 au). For such an encounter to happen with a reasonably high probability the Sun must have formed in a stellar cluster with ηT≳104 Myr pc−3, where η is the stellar number density and T is the Sun’s residence time in the cluster.

On the survivability of a population of gas giant planets on wide orbits

ABSTRACT The existence of giant planets on wide orbits ($\stackrel{\gt }{_\sim }100\rm ~au$) challenge planet formation theories; the core accretion scenario has difficulty in forming them, whereas the disc instability model forms an overabundance of them that is not seen observations. We perform N-body simulations investigating the effect of close stellar encounters (≤1200 au) on systems hosting wide-orbit giant planets and the extent at which such interactions may disrupt the initial wide-orbit planet population. We find that the effect of an interaction on the orbit of a planet is stronger for high-mass, low-velocity perturbers, as expected. We find that due to just a single encounter there is a $\sim 17~{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ chance that the wide-orbit giant planet is liberated in the field, a $\sim 10~{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ chance it is scattered significantly outwards, and a $\sim 6~{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ chance it is significantly scattered inwards. Moreover, there is a $\sim 21~{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ chance that its eccentricity is excited to e &amp;gt; 0.1, making it more prone to disruption in subsequent encounters. The results strongly suggest that the effect of even a single stellar encounter is significant in disrupting the primordial wide-orbit giant planet population; in reality the effect will be even more prominent, as in a young star-forming region more such interactions are expected to occur. We conclude that the low occurrence rate of wide-orbit planets revealed by observational surveys does not exclude the possibility that such planetary systems are initially abundant, and therefore the disc–instability model may be a plausible scenario for their formation.

How the dynamical properties of globular clusters impact their γ-ray and X-ray emission

ABSTRACT The X-ray and γ-ray emission of globular clusters (GCs) is attributed to their large fraction of compact binary systems, especially those with millisecond pulsars (MSPs). We analyse a population of 124 Galactic GCs to investigate how their dynamical properties affect the formation and evolution of compact binary systems and how this can be translated into the clusters’ observed X-ray and γ-ray emission. We use mainly Chandra X-ray Observatory and Fermi Large Area Telescope observations to achieve our goals and start by detecting 39 GCs in γ rays, seven of which are not listed in previous Fermi-LAT catalogs. Additionally, we find that the total number of X-ray sources within a GC and its γ-ray luminosity are linearly correlated with the stellar encounter rate, indicating that compact binary systems are mainly formed via close stellar encounters. We also find an unexpected rise in the number of X-ray sources for GCs with low rates of stellar encounters, suggesting that there is a dynamical threshold where the formation of X-ray sources is dominated by stellar encounters. Furthermore, we use the Heggie-Hills law to find that subsequent stellar encounters in these compact binaries will, on average, make the binaries even harder, with basically no possibility of binary ionization. Finally, we find that all GCs are point-like sources in γ rays, indicating that the MSPs are concentrated in the clusters’ cores, likely due to dynamical friction.

Close encounters: How stellar flybys shape planet-forming discs

We review the role of stellar flybys and encounters in shaping planet-forming discs around young stars, based on the published literature on this topic in the last 30 years. Since most stars $$\le ~2$$ Myr old harbour protoplanetary discs, tidal perturbations affect planet formation. First, we examine the probability of experiencing flybys or encounters: More than 50% of stars with planet-forming discs in a typical star-forming environment should experience a close stellar encounter or flyby within 1000 au. Second, we detail the dynamical effects of flybys on planet-forming discs. Prograde, parabolic, disc-penetrating flybys are the most destructive. Grazing and penetrating flybys in particular lead to the capture of disc material by the secondary to form a highly misaligned circumsecondary disc with respect to the disc around the primary. One or both discs may undergo extreme accretion and outburst events, similar to the ones observed in FU Orionis-type stars. Warps and broken discs are distinct signatures of retrograde flybys. Third, we review some recently observed stellar systems with discs where a stellar flyby or an encounter is suspected—including UX Tau, RW Aur, AS 205, Z CMa, and FU Ori. Finally, we discuss the implications of stellar flybys for planet formation and exoplanet demographics, including possible imprints of a flyby in the Solar System in the orbits of trans-Neptunian objects and the Sun’s obliquity.

Search for Close Stellar Encounters with the Solar System Based on Data from the Gaia DR3 Catalogue

Search for Close Stellar Encounters with the Solar System Based on Data from the Gaia DR3 Catalogue

The Solar-Electric Sail: Application to Interstellar Migration and Consequences for SETI

The Solar-Electric Sail accelerates by reflecting positively charged solar wind ions. If it is used to propel an interstellar migration mission, its interstellar cruise velocity relative to the home star cannot exceed the solar wind velocity. In an effort to analytically determine interstellar cruise velocity for a 107 kg generation ship, a constant solar wind velocity within the heliosphere of a Sun-like star of 600 km/s is assumed. The solar wind proton density at 1 AU is also considered constant at 10 protons per cubic centimeter. Solar wind density is assumed to decrease with the inverse square of solar distance. It is shown that, to maintain sufficient acceleration to achieve an interstellar cruise velocity about 70% of the solar wind velocity, the radius of the sail’s electric field is enormous—greater than 105 km. Because the solar wind velocity and density are not constant, field strength must be varied rapidly to compensate for solar wind variation. Although not competitive with the ultimate theoretical performance of solar-photon sail propelled migrations departing from Sun-like stars, the solar-electric sail might be superior in this application for migration from dim K and M main sequence stars. Such migrations conducted during close stellar encounters might have durations &lt; 1000 terrestrial years. If only a tiny fraction of M dwarf stars host star-faring civilizations, a significant fraction of Milky Way galaxy planetary systems may have been inhabited, even if no major advances over currently postulated interstellar transportation systems are postulated. SETI theoreticians should consider this when estimating the effects of interstellar colonization.

Collision of two stellar associations in the nearby Gum Nebula

ABSTRACT Based on Gaia DR2 data and new CHIRON radial velocities, we have discovered that two nearby stellar associations UPK 535 (318.08 ± 0.29 pc, $25^{+15}_{-10}$ Myr, 174 stars) and Yep 3 (339.54 ± 0.25 pc, $45^{+55}_{-20}$ Myr, 297 stars) in the Gum Nebula have recently collided. We project stars’ current positions, motions, and measurement uncertainties backward and forward through time in a 10 000-trial Monte Carlo simulation. On average, the associations’ centres of mass come within 18.89 ± 0.73 pc of each other 0.84 ± 0.03 Myr ago. A mode of 54 ± 7 close (&amp;lt;1 pc) stellar encounters occur during the collision. We cannot predict specific star–star close encounters with our current ∼7.6 pc distance precision and 21.5 per cent complete radial velocity sample. Never the less, we find that two stars in UPK 535 and two stars in Yep 3 undergo a nonspecific close encounter in &amp;gt;70 per cent of trials and multiple close encounters in ∼30 per cent. On average, the closest approach of any two stars is 0.13 ± 0.06 pc, or 27 000 ± 12 000 au. With impulse-tracing values up to $2.7^{+3.1}_{-1.1}$ M⊙ pc−2 km−1 s, such close encounters could perturb stars’ Oort cloud comets (if present), cause heavy bombardment events for exoplanets (if present), and reshape Solar system architectures. Finally, an expansion of our simulation suggests other associations in the region are also interacting. Association collisions may be commonplace, at least in the Gum Nebula straddling the Galactic plane, and may spur Solar system evolution more than previously recognized.

Estimation of the Number of Stellar Encounters on a Cross-sectional Area containing a Planetary Disk in Birth Clusters of Stars

Abstract In this work, I estimate the number of close stellar encounters on a specific cross-sectional area that may contain a planetary disk in a crowded star formation cluster. The approximation employs Monte Carlo runs to estimate the most likely value of the number of encounters as a function of stellar densities from 1.6 × 105 to 6.2 × 105 pc−3, velocity dispersions from 0.7 to 1.5 km s−1, and the lifetime of a typical star formation environment. I found that the most likely number of encounters on cross-sectional areas with a radius of 400 au goes from one to three. Although, four encounters are also likely to happen. This means that multiple strong stellar could happen on planetary disks in the early epoch of the star formation clusters.

Unbound Close Stellar Encounters in the Solar Neighborhood

Abstract We present a catalog of unbound stellar pairs, within 100 pc of the Sun, that are undergoing close, hyperbolic, encounters. The data are drawn from the GAIA EDR3 catalog, and the limiting factors are errors in the radial distance and unknown velocities along the line of sight. Such stellar pairs have been suggested to be possible events associated with the migration of technological civilizations between stars. As such, this sample may represent a finite set of targets for a SETI search based on this hypothesis. Our catalog contains a total of 132 close passage events, featuring stars from across the entire main sequence, with 16 pairs featuring at least one main-sequence star of spectral type between K1 and F3. Many of these stars are also in binaries, so that we isolate eight single stars as the most likely candidates to search for an ongoing migration event—HD 87978, HD 92577, HD 50669, HD 44006, HD 80790, LSPM J2126+5338, LSPM J0646+1829 and HD 192486. Among host stars of known planets, the stars GJ 433 and HR 858 are the best candidates.

Close stellar encounters kicking planets out of habitable zone in various stellar environments

Continuous habitability of a planet is a critical condition for advanced forms of life to appear, but it can be endangered by astronomical events such as stellar encounters. The purpose of this study is to analyze close stellar encounters able to change planetary orbits initially in circumstellar habitable zones and to investigate the expected encounter rates in a variety of stellar environments. Using gravitational simulations for three-body systems, this study analyzed the dependencies of encounter impact-parameters with kinematic, geometric, and habitability parameters of the system. We also used kinematic properties of various stellar regions and estimated encounter rates of the events. The expected number of threatening stellar encounters in the Solar neighborhood is [Formula: see text] in 4 billion years, while for the Galactic bulge environment, we expect approximately 5.5 times the value. The encounter rates for other stellar environments are calculated and spheroidal dwarf galaxies and globular clusters encounter rates are estimated. The results show that in contrast with the solar neighborhood, close stellar encounters can play a significant role in the expected number of planets with continuous habitability in dense stellar environments. Another notable result shows that threatening stellar encounter rate follows the number density of stars, and is not strongly dependent of the region’s velocity dispersion. Further investigations are needed to study long-term multiple planetary systems and how they can change the overall expected value of continuously habitable planets.

Close stellar encounters at the Galactic Centre – I. The effect on the observed stellar populations

ABSTRACT We model the effects of collisions and close encounters on the stellar populations observed in the Milky Way nuclear stellar cluster (NSC). Our analysis is based on N-body simulations in which the NSC forms by accretion of massive stellar clusters around a supermassive black hole. We attach stellar populations to our N-body particles and follow the evolution of their stars, and the rate of collisions and close encounters. The most common encounters are collisions between pairs of main-sequence (MS) stars, which lead to mergers: destructive collisions between MS stars and compact objects are rare. We find that the effects of collisions on the stellar populations are small for three reasons. First, our models possess a core that limits the maximum stellar density. Secondly, the velocity dispersion in the NSC is similar to the surface escape velocities of the stars, which minimizes the collision rate. Finally, whilst collisions between MS stars destroy bright giants by accelerating their evolution, they also create them by accelerating the evolution of lower mass stars. These two effects approximately cancel out. We also investigate whether the G2 cloud could be a fuzzball: a compact stellar core that has accreted a tenuous envelope in a close encounter with a red giant. We conclude that fuzzballs with cores below $2\, {\rm M_{\odot }}$ have thermal times-scales too short to reproduce G2. A fuzzball with a black hole core could reproduce the surface properties of G2 but the production rate of such objects in our model is low.

Fast Optical Transients from Stellar-mass Black Hole Tidal Disruption Events in Young Star Clusters

Abstract Observational evidence suggests that the majority of stars may have been born in stellar clusters or associations. Within these dense environments, dynamical interactions lead to high rates of close stellar encounters. A variety of recent observational and theoretical indications suggest stellar-mass black holes may be present and play an active dynamical role in stellar clusters of all masses. In this study, we explore the tidal disruption of main-sequence stars by stellar-mass black holes in young star clusters. We compute a suite of over 3000 independent N-body simulations that cover a range of cluster mass, metallicity, and half-mass radii. We find stellar-mass black hole tidal disruption events (TDEs) occur at an overall rate of up to roughly 200 Gpc−3 yr−1 in young stellar clusters in the local universe. These TDEs are expected to have several characteristic features, namely, fast rise times of order a day, peak X-ray luminosities of at least 1044 erg s−1, and bright optical luminosities (roughly 1041–1044 erg s−1) associated with reprocessing by a disk wind. In particular, we show these events share many features in common with the emerging class of Fast Blue Optical Transients.

Study of Close Stellar Encounters with the Solar System Based on Data from the Gaia EDR3 Catalogue

We have studied stellar candidates for close (within 1 pc) encounters with the Solar system. For all of the stars under consideration the kinematic characteristics have been taken from the Gaia EDR3 catalogue. The parameters of the encounters of these stars with the Solar system have been calculated using three methods: (1) the linear one, (2) by integrating the orbits in an axisymmetric potential, and (3) by integrating the orbits in a potential with a spiral density wave. All three methods are shown to yield similar results. We have selected five stars that are good candidates for reaching the boundaries of the Oort cloud and passing through it. Based on the second method, in good agreement with the other two methods, we have obtained the following estimates of the encounter parameters for the star GJ 710: $t_{min}=1.320\pm0.028$ Myr and $d_{min}=0.020\pm0.007$ pc. It is also interesting to note the star Gaia EDR3 510911618569239040 with parameters $t_{min}=-2.863\pm0.046$ Myr and $d_{min}=0.057\pm0.079$ pc.

The Great Inequality and the Dynamical Disintegration of the Outer Solar System

Abstract Using an ensemble of N-body simulations, this paper considers the fate of the outer gas giants (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune) after the Sun leaves the main sequence and completes its stellar evolution. Due to solar mass loss—which is expected to remove roughly half of the star’s mass—the orbits of the giant planets expand. This adiabatic process maintains the orbital period ratios, but the mutual interactions between planets and the width of mean-motion resonances (MMR) increase, leading to the capture of Jupiter and Saturn into a stable 5:2 resonant configuration. The expanded orbits, coupled with the large-amplitude librations of the critical MMR angle, make the system more susceptible to perturbations from stellar flyby interactions. Accordingly, within about 30 Gyr, stellar encounters perturb the planets onto the chaotic subdomain of the 5:2 resonance, triggering a large-scale instability, which culminates in the ejections of all but one planet over the subsequent ∼10 Gyr. After an additional ∼50 Gyr, a close stellar encounter (with a perihelion distance less than ∼200 au) liberates the final planet. Through this sequence of events, the characteristic timescale over which the solar system will be completely dissolved is roughly 100 Gyr. Our analysis thus indicates that the expected dynamical lifetime of the solar system is much longer than the current age of the universe, but is significantly shorter than previous estimates.

Dynamical evolution of a young planetary system: stellar flybys in co-planar orbital configuration

Stellar flybys in star clusters may perturb the evolution of young planetary systems in terms of disk truncation, planetary migration and planetary mass accretion. We investigate the feedback of a young planetary system during a single close stellar encounter in a typical open young stellar cluster. We consider 5 masses for the stellar perturbers: 0.5, 0.8, 1, 3 and 8 M$_{Sun}$, in coplanar, prograde and retrograde orbits respect to the planetary disk, varying the pertruber-host star orbital periastron from 100 AU to 500 AU. We have made 3D modelizations with the smooth particle hydrodynamics code GaSPH of a system composed by a solar type star surrounded by a low density disk where a giant planet is embedded in. We focus on the dynamical evolution of global parameters characterizing the disk and the planet, like the Lagrangian radius containing the $63.2\%$ of the mass of the disk, the distance of the planet to its host star, the planet orbital eccentricity and the planetary mass accretion. We find that the most part of the simulated systems show a significant disk truncation after a single close encounter, a final orbital distance of the Jovian, from the central star, lower than the unperturbed case and, finally, the perturbed systems show a final mass accretion of the Jovian planet larger than the non-perturbed case. Therefore, stellar flybys significantly perturb the dynamics of a young planetary system, regardless the orbital configuration of the stellar perturber. In such experiments, the final disk radius and the orbital parameters of the Jovian planet are considerably affected by the stellar close encounter.