Researchers at the University of Sheffield have proposed a new source for Jupiter-like planets orbiting massive stars three times the mass of our Sun
According to a recently published study, massive stars in the densely populated interstellar factories where most stars form can steal or capture Jupiter-sized planets.
Researchers from the University of Sheffield presented a new explanation for the newly discovered BEAST planets. These are Jupiter-like planets that are far from massive stars—at a distance hundreds of times greater than the distance between Earth and the Sun.
Until recently, their evolution was a mystery, because massive stars generate large amounts of UV radiation, which prevents planets from growing to the size of Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system.
Dr Emma Daffen-Powell, co-author of the study, from the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Sheffield, says: “Our previous studies have shown that in star factories, stars can steal planets from other stars, or capture what we call ‘free’ planets.” We know that massive stars have more influence in these habitats than sun-like stars, and we found that these massive stars can capture or steal planets – which we call BEASTies.”
She adds: “In effect, it’s star robbery. We use computer simulations to show that the capture or theft of these BEASTies occurs on average once in the first 10 million years of the evolution of a star-forming region.”
Dr. Richard Parker, Lecturer in Astrophysics in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Sheffield, explains: “The BEAST planets are a new addition to the large number of exoplanetary systems, showing an incredible variety, from planetary systems around Sun-like stars that are very different from our own Solar System, to planets orbiting Stars evolve or die. The BEAST study discovered at least two planets more massive than Jupiter orbiting massive stars. Planets can form around massive stars, but it’s hard to see how gas giant planets like Jupiter and Saturn can form in such hostile environments, where radiation from the stars can vaporize the planets before they fully form.”
He continues: “But our simulations show that these planets can be captured, or stolen, in orbits very similar to those of the observed BEASTies. Our results add credence to the idea that planets in more distant orbits (more than a hundred times the distance between the Earth and the Sun) may not be orbiting their parent star “.
The study was conducted by Dr. Richard Parker and Dr. Emma Duffen-Powell at the University of Sheffield and is part of a larger research program aimed at determining how common planetary systems like ours are in the context of the thousands of other planetary systems in the Milky Way galaxy.
for the scientific article
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