Project P3: Origin of warm and hot debris disks and planetary system architecture

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Near-IR interferometry, high-resolution mid-IR spectra, and far-IR surveys of the last years suggest that debris disks commonly possess a complex radial structure, involving cold (~ 50 K), warm (~ 200 K), and hot (~ 1000 K) dust components. However, it remains uncertain whether these components are always confined to physically separated narrow rings, and their origin and interrelations between them remain largely unclear. It is likely that invisible planets are largely responsible for the radial structure, populating and clearing various zones through migration or scattering. In this project, we will obtain improved statistics for the occurrence rate and parameters of warm and hot dust disks; come up with one or more specific scenarios for the origin of the observed warm and hot dust that satisfy the available theoretical and observational constraints; formulate constraints on planetesimals and planets and the overall architecture of the systems; and make suggestions for future observational tests. The project will be run in a close collaboration with projects P4-P9 that will provide key ingredients for the collisional models and calculation of observables.