2000/04/05 by Brad M. S. Hansen, Hansen, Brad M. S.
Medicine · Physics and Astronomy · #Astro and Planetary Science #Space Science and Extraterrestrial Life #Spaceflight effects on biology #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.astro-ph/0004058
TeX, 3 pages plus 3 postscript figures. submitted to Ap. J. Letters
arxiv created 2000/04/05 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01
Planet formation is accompanied by the formation of comet clouds. In systems where planets migrate on rapid timescales, the diffusive evolution of comet orbits may stall, resulting in a comet cloud intermediate between a flattened Kuiper Belt and a spherical Oort cloud. These `failed Oort clouds' may provide a `smoking gun', indicating that planetary migration has taken place. If some fraction of the scattered component consists of planetary embryos, it may be possible to observe transits of such bodies even when the planetary system is not edge-on to the line of sight.