Statistics – Computation
Scientific paper
Sep 1988
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1988a%26a...203l..13w&link_type=abstract
Astronomy and Astrophysics (ISSN 0004-6361), vol. 203, no. 1, Sept. 1988, p. L13-L15.
Statistics
Computation
13
Brown Dwarf Stars, Companion Stars, Orbit Perturbation, Stellar Mass, Stellar Motions, Asymmetry, Computational Astrophysics, Disks (Shapes), Relaxation Time
Scientific paper
The disk in Beta Pictoris is observed to be asymmetric, with the NE branch longer and brighter than the SW branch. The optical depth of the disk implies that the observed particles would relax to an axisymmetric configuration on a timescale much shorter than the probable age of the system. Thus, the persistence of the asymmetry suggests the existence of a shorter perturbing timescale. A model is investigated in which this shorter timescale is associated with the eccentricity perturbation timescale of a brown dwarf companion. If the observed outer disk edge at about 1000 AU is due to orbital instability, the companion's periastron distance is in the range 1500-1900 AU, corresponding to a mass range of 0.02-0.08 solar masses, respectively. The companion's primordial inclination and eccentricity are statistically stable from perturbations by passing field stars over the lifetime of the system.
Matese John J.
Tomley Leslie J.
Whitmire Daniel P.
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