Other Kuiper Belts

When a main sequence star evolves into a red giant and its Kuiper Belt objects (KBOs) reach a temperature of similar to170 K, the dust released during the rapid ice sublimation of these cometary bodies may lead to a detectable infrared excess at 25 mum, depending on the mass of the KBOs. Analysis of IRAS data for 66 first-ascent red giants with 200 L-. < L < 300 L-. within 150 pc of the Sun provides an upper limit to the mass in KBOs at 45 AU orbital radius that is usually less than similar to0.1 M-.. With improved infrared data, we may detect systems of KBOs around first-ascent red giants that are analogs to our solar system.