Nearby Supernova and Cloud Crossing Effects on the Orbits of Small Bodies in the Solar System

TL;DR

This paper models how nearby supernova explosions can significantly alter the orbits of small bodies and dust in the Solar System, potentially ejecting material and affecting structures like the Kuiper belt and Saturn's Phoebe ring.

Contribution

It provides a detailed modeling of supernova impacts on small Solar System bodies and dust, highlighting the potential for orbital ejection and dust removal effects.

Findings

Supernovae within 50 pc can eject small bodies from the Oort Cloud.

Supernovae can sweep away dust from the Kuiper belt and Phoebe ring.

Dust grain trajectories are highly sensitive to wind direction and proximity.

Abstract

Supernova blasts envelop many surrounding stellar systems, transferring kinetic energy to small bodies in the systems. Geologic evidence from $^{60}\rm Fe$ points to recent nearby supernova activity within the past several Myr. Here, we model the transfer of energy and resulting orbital changes from these supernova blasts to the Oort Cloud, the Kuiper belt, and Saturn's Phoebe ring. For the Oort Cloud, an impulse approximation shows that a 50 pc supernova can eject approximately half of all objects less than 1 cm while altering the trajectories of larger ones, depending on their orbital parameters. For stars closest to supernovae, objects up to $\sim$100 m can be ejected. Turning to the explored solar system, we find that supernovae closer than 50 pc may affect Saturn's Phoebe ring and can sweep away Kuiper belt dust. It is also possible that the passage of the solar system through a dense interstellar cloud could have a similar effect; a numerical trajectory simulation shows that the location of the dust grains and the direction of the wind (from a supernova or interstellar cloud) has a significant impact on whether or not the grains will become unbound from their orbit in the Kuiper belt. Overall, nearby supernovae sweep micron-sized dust from the solar system, though whether the grains are ultimately cast towards the Sun or altogether ejected depends on various factors. Evidence of supernova-modified dust grain trajectories may be observed by New Horizons, though further modeling efforts are required.