Flybys in debris disk systems with Gaia eDR3

Context. Debris disks represent the last phase of the evolution of protoplanetary disks around young stellar objects where planetary systems had most likely already been formed. Resolved systems show peculiar structures, such as asymmetries or spirals, which may be associated with either the presence of a low-mass companion or dynamical interactions with a perturber during a flyby event. Aims. We aim to observationally and statistically constrain the influence of flybys in the formation and evolution of debris disks. Methods. We compiled a sample of 254 debris disks with ages between 2 Myr and 8 Gyr that are either part of an association or isolated, drawing the binary and planetary companions of the systems mainly from the literature. Using the Gaia eDR3 astrometric data and radial velocities of our sample, as well as all the sources in a specific region of the sky, we reconstructed the relative linear motions in the last 5 Myr and made predictions for the next 2 Myr. Relating the Hill radius of each debris disk system and the closest distances reached by the two sources, we defined the flyby events in terms of position and time. Results. We find that in the period between the last 5 Myrs and the next 2 Myrs, 90% of the analyzed systems have experienced at least a close flyby, while 7% of them have experienced flybys at distances greater than 0.5R(Hill). In particular, 75% of them have experienced at least one past close encounter and 36% multiple past close encounters. From the sub-sample of resolved debris disk (41 out of 94), 80% of the analyzed systems experience at least an encounter within 0.8 pc. From the subsample of 10 debris disks with planets, half of these systems do show misalignments between disk and planet, stirring, or asymmetries. Systems with a misalignment between the planetary orbit and the disk do indeed experience at least one flyby event. In particular, when the planet orbits have a difference with the disk inclination higher than about 20 degrees, as in the case of HD 38529, we find that multiple close encounters have taken place in the last 5 Myr, as theoretically predicted. Conclusions. The high incidence of encounters, particularly close encounters, experienced by the systems in the last 5 Myr suggests the fundamental impact of flybys on the evolution of debris disks. Moreover, despite the low statistics, it is interesting to highlight that flybys that have been theoretically predicted so far in peculiar resolved systems have also been observationally constrained.

Automated summary

This study shows that in the past 5 million years, 90% of the debris disk systems have experienced at least one close flyby event, indicating the significant impact of flybys on the evolution of debris disks. Furthermore, the observed flyby events in resolved systems are consistent with theoretical predictions.