EXTREME CONDITIONS IN A CLOSE ANALOG TO THE YOUNG SOLAR SYSTEM: HERSCHEL OBSERVATIONS OF ε ERIDANI

Journal Article · Sun Aug 10 00:00:00 EDT 2014 · Astrophysical Journal Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/791/1/L11· OSTI ID:22365366

Greaves, J. S. ^[1]; Sibthorpe, B.; Holland, W. S. ^[2]; Acke, B.; Vandenbussche, B.; Pantin, E. E. ^[3]; Olofsson, G.; Brandeker, A.; De Vries, B. L. ^[4]; Dominik, C. ^[5]; Barlow, M. J. ^[6]; Bendo, G. J. ^[7]; Dent, W. R. F. ^[8]; Di Francesco, J. ^[9]; Fridlund, M. ^[10]; Gear, W. K. ^[11]; Harvey, P. M. ^[12]; Hogerheijde, M. R. ^[13]; others, and

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1. SUPA, Physics and Astronomy, University of St Andrews, North Haugh, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9SS (United Kingdom)
2. UK Astronomy Technology Centre, Royal Observatory Edinburgh, Blackford Hill, Edinburgh EH9 3HJ (United Kingdom)
3. Laboratoire AIM, CEA/DSM-CNRS-Universit Paris Diderot, IRFU/Service dAstrophysique, Bat.709, CEA-Saclay, F-91191 Gif- sur-Yvette Cedex (France)
4. Stockholm University Astrobiology Centre, SE-106 91 Stockholm (Sweden)
5. Astronomical Institute Anton Pannekoek, University of Amsterdam, P.O. Box 94249, 1090-GE Amsterdam (Netherlands)
6. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT (United Kingdom)
7. Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL (United Kingdom)
8. ALMA SCO, Alonso de Cordova 3107, Vitacura, Casilla 763 0355, Santiago (Chile)
9. Herzberg Astronomy and Astrophysics Programs, National Research Council of Canada, 5071 West Saanich Road, Victoria, BC, V9E 2E7 (Canada)
10. ESA, SRE-SA, Keplerlaan 1, NL-2201 AZ Noordwijk (Netherlands)
11. School of Physics and Astronomy, Cardiff University, Queens Buildings, The Parade, Cardiff CF24 3AA (United Kingdom)
12. Astronomy Department, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712 (United States)
13. Leiden Observatory, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9513, 2300-RA Leiden (Netherlands)

Far-infrared Herschel images of the ε Eridani system, seen at a fifth of the Sun's present age, resolve two belts of debris emission. Fits to the 160 μm PACS image yield radial spans for these belts of 12-16 and 54-68 AU. The south end of the outer belt is ≈10% brighter than the north end in the PACS+SPIRE images at 160, 250, and 350 μm, indicating a pericenter glow attributable to a planet ''c''. From this asymmetry and an upper bound on the offset of the belt center, this second planet should be mildly eccentric (e{sub c} ≈ 0.03-0.3). Compared to the asteroid and Kuiper Belts of the young Sun, the ε Eri belts are intermediate in brightness and more similar to each other, with up to 20 km sized collisional fragments in the inner belt totaling ≈5% of an Earth mass. This reservoir may feed the hot dust close to the star and could send many impactors through the Habitable Zone, especially if it is being perturbed by the suspected planet ε Eri b, at semi-major axis ≈3 AU.

• OSTI ID: 22365366
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal Letters, Vol. 791, Issue 1; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 2041-8205
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTROPHYSICS
COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
ASTEROIDS
ASYMMETRY
BRIGHTNESS
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
FAR INFRARED RADIATION
IMAGES
PLANETS
SOLAR SYSTEM
SOLAR SYSTEM EVOLUTION
SUN