English

Dynamical Population of Comet Reservoirs

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics 2022-06-02 v1 Astrophysics of Galaxies

Abstract

The Oort cloud and the scattered disk are the two primary reservoirs for long-period and short-period comets, respectively. In this review, we assess the known observational constraints on these reservoirs' properties and their formation. In addition, we discuss how the early orbital evolution of the giant planets generated the modern scattered disk from the early, massive planetesimal disk and how \sim5\% of this material was captured into the Oort cloud. We review how the Sun's birth environment and dynamical history within the Milky Way alters the formation and modern structure of the Oort cloud. Finally, we assess how the coming decade's anticipated observing campaigns may provide new insights into the formation and properties of the Oort cloud and scattered disk.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2206.00010,
  title  = {Dynamical Population of Comet Reservoirs},
  author = {Nathan A. Kaib and Kathryn Volk},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2206.00010},
  year   = {2022}
}

Comments

25 pages, 13 figures; Chapter in press for the book Comets III, edited by K. Meech and M. Combi, University of Arizona Press