Debris discs in binaries: morphology and photometric signatures

TL;DR

This study investigates how debris belts in binary star systems evolve and produce observable signatures, revealing distinctive structures and spectral features that can be detected with current instruments, and explaining some paradoxical observations.

Contribution

It demonstrates the impact of binary companions on debris belt morphology and spectral signatures, highlighting features like spirals and secondary disks that are detectable with advanced imaging.

Findings

Presence of a halo of small grains in unstable regions

Detection of a spiral arm structure from the belt to the companion star

System's SED appears colder due to small grain depletion

Abstract

We aim to see whether debris belts evolving in between two stars may be impacted by the presence of the companion and whether this leaves any detectable signature that could be observed with current or future instruments. We consider a circumprimary parent body (PB) planetesimal belt that is placed just inside the stability limit between the 2 stars and use the DyCoSS code to follow the coupled dynamical and collisional evolution of the dust produced by this PB belt. We explore several free parameters such as the belt's mass or the binary's mass ratio and orbit. We use the GraTeR package to produce 2-D luminosity maps and system-integrated SEDs. We confirm a preliminary result obtained by earlier DyCoSS studies, which is that the coupled effect of collisional activity, binary perturbations and stellar radiation pressure maintains a halo of small grains in the dynamically unstable region between the 2 stars. In addition, several spatial structures are identified, notably a single spiral arm stretching all the way from the PB belt to the companion star. We also identify a fainter and more compact disc around the secondary star, which is non-native and feeds off small grains from the unstable halo. Both the halo, spiral arm and secondary disc should be detectable on resolved images by instruments with capacities similar to SPHERE. The system as a whole is depleted in small grains when compared to a companion-free case. This depletion leaves an imprint on the system's integrated SED, which appears colder than for the same parent body belt around a single star. This new finding could explain why the SED-derived location $r_{disc}$ of some unresolved discs-in-binaries places their primary belt in the dynamically "forbidden" region between the 2 stars: this apparent paradox could indeed be due to overestimating $r_{disc}$ when using empirical prescriptions valid for a single star case