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The Astrophysical Journal Letters
Article . 2023 . Peer-reviewed
License: CC BY
Data sources: Crossref
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The Astrophysical Journal Letters
Article . 2023
Data sources: DOAJ
https://dx.doi.org/10.48550/ar...
Article . 2023
License: arXiv Non-Exclusive Distribution
Data sources: Datacite
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Are There Terrestrial Planets Lurking in the Outer Solar System?

Authors: Amir Siraj;

Are There Terrestrial Planets Lurking in the Outer Solar System?

Abstract

Abstract Motivated by recent measurements of the free-floating-planet mass function at terrestrial masses, we consider the possibility that the solar system may have captured a terrestrial planet early in its history. We show that ∼1.2 captured free-floating planets with mass strictly greater than that of Mars may exist in the outer solar system, with a median predicted distance of ∼1400 au. If we consider a logarithmic bin centered on the mass of Mars, rather than a cutoff, we find that ∼2.7 captured free-floating planets with mass comparable to Mars may exist in the outer solar system. We derive an expectation value of ∼0.9 for the number of captured free-floating planets with mass comparable to that of Mars (∼1.4 for mass comparable to that of Mercury) that are currently brighter than the 10 yr coadded point-source detection limits of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory's Legacy Survey of Space and Time. Blind shift-and-stack searches could potentially enable the detection of such a planet if it is currently in the Southern sky. The theoretical argument presented here does not rely on the existence of posited patterns in the orbital elements of small bodies in and beyond the Kuiper Belt, in contrast with other hypothetical outer-solar-system planets motivated in recent years.

Related Organizations
Keywords

QB460-466, Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP), Planetary dynamics, Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA), Free floating planets, FOS: Physical sciences, Astrophysics, Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies, Astrophysics - Earth and Planetary Astrophysics

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selected citations
These citations are derived from selected sources.
This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Citations provided by BIP!
popularity
This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Popularity provided by BIP!
influence
This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Influence provided by BIP!
impulse
This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Impulse provided by BIP!
1
Average
Average
Average
Green
gold