Exoplanetology: Exoplanets & Exomoons

Formation of Free-floating Planetary Mass Objects Via Circumstellar Disk Encounters

By Keith Cowing
Status Report
astro-ph.EP
October 30, 2024
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Formation of Free-floating Planetary Mass Objects Via Circumstellar Disk Encounters
Free-floating Planetary Mass Object — NASA

The origin of planetary mass objects (PMOs) wandering in young star clusters remains enigmatic, especially when they come in pairs. They could represent the lowest-mass object formed via molecular cloud collapse or high-mass planets ejected from their host stars.

However, neither theory fully accounts for their abundance and multiplicity. Here, we show via hydrodynamic simulations that free-floating PMOs have a unique formation channel via the fragmentation of tidal bridge between encountering circumstellar disks.

This process can be highly productive in density clusters like Trapezium forming metal-poor PMOs with disks. Free-floating multiple PMOs also naturally emerge when neighboring PMOs are caught by mutual gravity. PMOs may thus form a distinct population different from stars and planets.

Zhihao Fu, Hongping Deng, Douglas N.C. Lin, Lucio Mayer

Comments: submitted version, comments are welcome
Subjects: Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP); Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA); Solar and Stellar Astrophysics (astro-ph.SR)
Cite as: arXiv:2410.21180 [astro-ph.EP] (or arXiv:2410.21180v1 [astro-ph.EP] for this version)
https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2410.21180
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Submission history
From: Hongping Deng
[v1] Mon, 28 Oct 2024 16:21:14 UTC (6,751 KB)
https://arxiv.org/abs/2410.21180
astrobiology

Explorers Club Fellow, ex-NASA Space Station Payload manager/space biologist, Away Teams, Journalist, Lapsed climber, Synaesthete, Na’Vi-Jedi-Freman-Buddhist-mix, ASL, Devon Island and Everest Base Camp veteran, (he/him) 🖖🏻