Dynamics of small bodies in planetary systems

Abstract

The number of stars that are known to have debris disks is greater than that of stars known to harbour planets. These disks are detected because dust is created in the destruction of planetesimals in the disks much in the same way that dust is produced in the asteroid belt and Kuiper belt in the solar system. For the nearest stars the structure of their debris disks can be directly imaged, showing a wide variety of both axisymmetric and asymmetric structures. A successful interpretation of these images requires a knowledge of the dynamics of small bodies in planetary systems, since this allows the observed dust distribution to be deconvolved to provide information on the distribution of larger objects, such as planetesimals and planets. This chapter reviews the structures seen in debris disks, and describes a disk dynamical theory which can be used to interpret those observations. In this way much of the observed structures, both axisymmetric and asymmetric, can be explained by a model in which the dust is produced in a planetesimal belt which is perturbed by a nearby, as yet unseen, planet. While the planet predictions still require confirmation, it is clear that debris disks have the potential to provide unique information about the structure of extrasolar planetary systems, since they can tell us about planets analogous to Neptune and even the Earth. Significant failings of the model at present are its inability to predict the quantity of small grains in a system, and to explain the origin of the transient dust seen in some systems. Given the complexity of planetary system dynamics and how that is readily reflected in the structure of a debris disk, it seems inevitable that the study of debris disks will play a vital role in our understanding of extrasolar planetary systems.