On the Number Density of Interstellar Comets as a Constraint on the Formation Rate of Planetary Systems
Abstract
The importance of detecting interstellar comets as an indirect indicator of the rate of planetary formation in the galaxy is discussed. The tie between interstellar comet (ISC) detection and planetary-system detection rests on the assumptions (1) that interstellar comets result from dynamical losses from planetary systems, (2) that comets are a natural product of planetary-system formation, (3) that comets are neither created nor destroyed in the interstellar medium, and (4) that the distribution of comets in interstellar space is approximately homogeneous. It is found that the present constraint on the space density of interstellar comets, if valid, is not far from constraining the statistical frequency and average population of extrasolar Oort clouds. An efficient method for dedicated ISC searches is briefly described.
- Publication:
-
Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific
- Pub Date:
- July 1990
- DOI:
- 10.1086/132704
- Bibcode:
- 1990PASP..102..793S
- Keywords:
-
- Comets;
- Planetary Evolution;
- Planetary Systems;
- Stellar Mass Ejection;
- Infrared Radiation;
- Oort Cloud;
- Space Density;
- Astrophysics;
- COMETS;
- PLANETS: FORMATION