Capture of comets during the evolution of a star cluster and the origin of the Oort Cloud |
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| Authors: | Jia-Qing Zheng Mauri J Valtonen Leena Valtaoja |
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| Institution: | (1) Department of Physical Sciences, University of Turku, 20520 Turku, Finland;(2) Present address: Purple Mountain Observatory, Nanjing, China |
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| Abstract: | It is generally assumed that the Solar System is surrounded by a swarm of comets, the so-called Oort Cloud, which contains approximately 1011 members. The observed comets belong to a small subsection of the Cloud, and they have very elongated orbits. The origin of the Cloud is presently unclear. Here we consider the possibility that the comets were born in a star cluster together with the Sun. We follow the evolution of the star cluster with its embedded swarm of comets and calculate the rate at which stars accumulate stable comet companions. We conclude that if the Oort Cloud of comets was born in this process, then the present day density of comets in interstellar space has to be high, and that comets make a significant contribution to the overall mass density of the Galaxy. |
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| Keywords: | Oort cloud comets origin of comets capture of comets |
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