Predicting Interstellar Object Chemodynamics with Gaia

Journal article

The interstellar object (ISO) population of the Milky Way is a product of its stars. However, what is in fact a complex structure in the solar neighborhood has traditionally in ISO studies been described as smoothly distributed. Using a debiased stellar population derived from the Gaia Data Release 3 stellar sample, we predict that the velocity distribution of ISOs is far more textured than a smooth Gaussian. The moving groups caused by Galactic resonances dominate the distribution. 1I/‘Oumuamua and 2I/Borisov have entirely normal places within these distributions; 1I is within the noncoeval moving group that includes the Matariki (Pleiades) cluster, and 2I within the Coma Berenices moving group. We show that for the composition of planetesimals formed beyond the ice line, these velocity structures also have a chemodynamic component. This variation will be visible on the sky. We predict that this richly textured distribution will be differentiable from smooth Gaussians in samples that are within the expected discovery capacity of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory. Solar neighborhood ISOs will be of all ages and come from a dynamic mix of many different populations of stars, reflecting their origins from all around the Galactic disk.

Authors: Hopkins, MJ; Bannister, MT; Lintott, C

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: American Astronomical Society
• Journal: Astronomical Journal
• Volume: 169
• Issue: 2
• Article number: 78
• Publication date: 2025-01-17
• Acceptance date: 2024-12-04
• DOI: 10.3847/1538-3881/ad9eb3
• EISSN: 1538-3881
• ISSN: 0004-6256
• Language: English
• Keywords: Interstellar objects; Galaxy dynamics; Milky Way Galaxy