WHY ARE PULSAR PLANETS RARE?

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-1-2016

Publication Title

Astrophysical Journal

Volume

832

Issue

2

Abstract

Pulsar timing observations have revealed planets around only a few pulsars. We suggest that the rarity of these planets is due mainly to two effects. First, we show that the most likely formation mechanism requires the destruction of a companion star. Only pulsars with a suitable companion (with an extreme mass ratio) are able to form planets. Second, while a dead zone (a region of low turbulence) in the disk is generally thought to be essential for planet formation, it is most probably rare in disks around pulsars, because of the irradiation from the pulsar. The irradiation strongly heats the inner parts of the disk, thus pushing the inner boundary of the dead zone out. We suggest that the rarity of pulsar planets can be explained by the low probability for these two requirements to be satisfied: a very low-mass companion and a dead zone. © 2016. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.

Keywords

accretion; accretion disks; planets and satellites: formation; protoplanetary disks; pulsars: general

Language

English

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