Exoplanets and Belts of Exocomets Around Nearby Stars

Introduction

The conditions for the origin of life on Earth-like planets are developed during the last steps of planet formation, when the planetary system is 10 to a few hundred million years old. Of crucial importance are basic feedstock ‘volatile’ molecules for prebiotic chemistry, which could be absent from terrestrial planets that may have formed dry.

Project Goal

The goal of E-BEANS is to study Exoplanets and Belts of Exocomets Around Nearby Stars to understand their potential to affect the presence of volatiles on terrestrial planets. Exocometary belts in the cold, outer reaches of planetary systems represent the volatile ice reservoir.

Interaction of Exoplanets and Exocomets

Outer Neptune-like exoplanets can interact with them to send exocomets inwards, enabling volatile delivery to temperate terrestrial planets. Meanwhile, terrestrial planets continue to grow through giant impacts, massive collisions that can strip off their atmospheres, affecting their composition.

Research Objectives

E-BEANS will study these processes to enable major steps forward on several fronts:

1. Multi-wavelength Exploration: It will carry out a multi-wavelength exploration of the composition of exocomets in the terrestrial planet formation epoch, enhanced by the first model of the chemical evolution of exocometary gas.

2. Linking Compositions: It will link the derived compositions to exocomet formation locations through population synthesis models applied to imaging survey data.

3. Diversity of Structures: E-BEANS will also study the diversity of planet-induced structure in exocometary belts, a signature of the planet-exocomet interaction necessary to scatter exocomets inwards.

4. Direct Detection: It will test an ambitious long-term plan to directly detect these Neptune analogs through ground-based mm/radio astrometry with future radio observatories.

5. Impact Analysis: Finally, the program will explore the composition and mass of impacting terrestrial planets through the gas and dust they release as post-impact debris.