Exocomets size distribution in the $$\beta$$ β Pictoris planetary system
Abstract The star $$\beta$$ β Pictoris harbors a young planetary system of about 20 million years old, which is characterized by the presence of a gaseous and dusty debris disk, at least two massive planets and many minor bodies. For more than thirty years, exocomets transiting the star have been d...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2022-04-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-09021-2 |
| _version_ | 1828262202287587328 |
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| author | Alain Lecavelier des Etangs Lucie Cros Guillaume Hébrard Eder Martioli Marc Duquesnoy Matthew A. Kenworthy Flavien Kiefer Sylvestre Lacour Anne-Marie Lagrange Nadège Meunier Alfred Vidal-Madjar |
| author_facet | Alain Lecavelier des Etangs Lucie Cros Guillaume Hébrard Eder Martioli Marc Duquesnoy Matthew A. Kenworthy Flavien Kiefer Sylvestre Lacour Anne-Marie Lagrange Nadège Meunier Alfred Vidal-Madjar |
| author_sort | Alain Lecavelier des Etangs |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The star $$\beta$$ β Pictoris harbors a young planetary system of about 20 million years old, which is characterized by the presence of a gaseous and dusty debris disk, at least two massive planets and many minor bodies. For more than thirty years, exocomets transiting the star have been detected using spectroscopy, probing the gaseous part of the cometary comas and tails. The detection of the dusty component of the tails can be performed through photometric observations of the transits. Since 2018, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite has observed $$\beta$$ β Pic for a total of 156 days. Here we report an analysis of the TESS photometric data set with the identification of a total of 30 transits of exocomets. Our statistical analysis shows that the number of transiting exocomet events (N) as a function of the absorption depth (AD) in the light curve follows a power law in the form $$dN(AD) \propto AD^{-\alpha }$$ d N ( A D ) ∝ A D - α , where $$\alpha =2.3\pm 0.4$$ α = 2.3 ± 0.4 . This distribution of absorption depth leads to a differential comet size distribution proportional to $$R^{-\gamma }$$ R - γ , where $$\gamma =3.6 \pm 0.8$$ γ = 3.6 ± 0.8 , showing a striking similarity to the size distribution of comets in the Solar system and the distribution of a collisionally relaxed population ( $$\gamma _{{\text{D}}}= 3.5$$ γ D = 3.5 ). |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T03:51:55Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-129a8ce1a1de4893ba9f79c52dc3f84d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T03:51:55Z |
| publishDate | 2022-04-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-129a8ce1a1de4893ba9f79c52dc3f84d2022-12-22T03:03:47ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222022-04-011211810.1038/s41598-022-09021-2Exocomets size distribution in the $$\beta$$ β Pictoris planetary systemAlain Lecavelier des Etangs0Lucie Cros1Guillaume Hébrard2Eder Martioli3Marc Duquesnoy4Matthew A. Kenworthy5Flavien Kiefer6Sylvestre Lacour7Anne-Marie Lagrange8Nadège Meunier9Alfred Vidal-Madjar10Institut d’astrophysique de Paris, CNRS, UMR 7095, Sorbonne UniversitéInstitut d’astrophysique de Paris, CNRS, UMR 7095, Sorbonne UniversitéInstitut d’astrophysique de Paris, CNRS, UMR 7095, Sorbonne UniversitéInstitut d’astrophysique de Paris, CNRS, UMR 7095, Sorbonne UniversitéLESIA, Observatoire de Paris, Université PSL, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, Univ. Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris CitéLeiden Observatory, Leiden UniversityInstitut d’astrophysique de Paris, CNRS, UMR 7095, Sorbonne UniversitéLESIA, Observatoire de Paris, Université PSL, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, Univ. Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris CitéLESIA, Observatoire de Paris, Université PSL, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, Univ. Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris CitéUniv. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, IPAGInstitut d’astrophysique de Paris, CNRS, UMR 7095, Sorbonne UniversitéAbstract The star $$\beta$$ β Pictoris harbors a young planetary system of about 20 million years old, which is characterized by the presence of a gaseous and dusty debris disk, at least two massive planets and many minor bodies. For more than thirty years, exocomets transiting the star have been detected using spectroscopy, probing the gaseous part of the cometary comas and tails. The detection of the dusty component of the tails can be performed through photometric observations of the transits. Since 2018, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite has observed $$\beta$$ β Pic for a total of 156 days. Here we report an analysis of the TESS photometric data set with the identification of a total of 30 transits of exocomets. Our statistical analysis shows that the number of transiting exocomet events (N) as a function of the absorption depth (AD) in the light curve follows a power law in the form $$dN(AD) \propto AD^{-\alpha }$$ d N ( A D ) ∝ A D - α , where $$\alpha =2.3\pm 0.4$$ α = 2.3 ± 0.4 . This distribution of absorption depth leads to a differential comet size distribution proportional to $$R^{-\gamma }$$ R - γ , where $$\gamma =3.6 \pm 0.8$$ γ = 3.6 ± 0.8 , showing a striking similarity to the size distribution of comets in the Solar system and the distribution of a collisionally relaxed population ( $$\gamma _{{\text{D}}}= 3.5$$ γ D = 3.5 ).https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-09021-2 |
| spellingShingle | Alain Lecavelier des Etangs Lucie Cros Guillaume Hébrard Eder Martioli Marc Duquesnoy Matthew A. Kenworthy Flavien Kiefer Sylvestre Lacour Anne-Marie Lagrange Nadège Meunier Alfred Vidal-Madjar Exocomets size distribution in the $$\beta$$ β Pictoris planetary system Scientific Reports |
| title | Exocomets size distribution in the $$\beta$$ β Pictoris planetary system |
| title_full | Exocomets size distribution in the $$\beta$$ β Pictoris planetary system |
| title_fullStr | Exocomets size distribution in the $$\beta$$ β Pictoris planetary system |
| title_full_unstemmed | Exocomets size distribution in the $$\beta$$ β Pictoris planetary system |
| title_short | Exocomets size distribution in the $$\beta$$ β Pictoris planetary system |
| title_sort | exocomets size distribution in the beta β pictoris planetary system |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-09021-2 |
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