Mathematics – Probability
Scientific paper
Apr 1987
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1987icar...70...52p&link_type=abstract
Icarus (ISSN 0019-1035), vol. 70, April 1987, p. 52-60. NSERC-supported research.
Mathematics
Probability
2
Comets, Interstellar Gas, Neutron Stars, Ozonosphere, Stellar Mass Accretion, White Dwarf Stars, Nemesis (Star), Oort Cloud, Radiation Effects, Solar System, Comets, Accretion, Gases, Flux, Radiation, Energy, Atmosphere, Ozone, Earth, Oort Cloud, X-Rays, Nemesis, Distance, Calculations
Scientific paper
Conditions under which accretion onto a nearby degenerate star, i.e., a white dwarf (WD) or neutron star (NS), could produce a sufficient flux of high-energy radiation to threaten the Earth's protective ozone layer are investigated. Both the case of a field star making a brief encounter with the Solar System and that of a degenerate solar companion ("Nemesis") are considered. For steady accretion from the interstellar medium (ISM), no significant flux is expected from a WD or a low-mass NS. A 1 M_sun; NS could deplete the ozone layer but only if either its closest approach is on the order of 1000 AU or the local ISM density is somewhat higher than average. A field star has a probability of about 2% of making such a close encounter over the lifetime of the Solar System. In the Nemesis case, an ellipticity of 0.99 is implied for a canonical period of 26 myr. In both cases, accretion of comets from the Oort cloud could result in γ-ray bursts, whose fluence could reach a significant level if the star came near the inner edge of the comet cloud. A degenerate Nemesis, if now at the aphelion of its proposed orbit, could be potentially observable as an X-ray or γ-ray source.
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