Image Details
Caption: Figure 3.
The observed extreme debris disks require planet-mass collisions. Minimum target mass needed to produce observed dust mass. Black lines show scenarios for the collision velocity being a multiple of the mutual escape velocity, while colored lines show scenarios with maximally eccentric colliders at different distances from their host star. Lines are for collisions at 45∘, with a mass ratio of 0.5, around a 1 M⊙ star except where indicated otherwise. Symbols show the minimum target mass calculated from inferred dust masses observed in extreme debris disks for a velocity 5 times the escape velocity (filled) and the maximally eccentric scenario (open). These points assume collisions at 45∘ with a mass ratio of 0.5. Symbols are also colored according to the observationally derived minimum stellocentric radius of the emission. Stars indicate those systems that show significant variability.
© 2026. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society.