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Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0The Astrophysical Journal

Extreme Debris Disks: Insights into Violent Collisions in Planet Formation and Destruction

  • Kate Y. L. Su1
  • Attila Moór2,3
  • Ágnes Kóspál2,3
  • George H. Rieke4,5
  • Antranik A. Sefilian4
  • Renu Malhotra5
  • Ilaria Pascucci5
  • Alan P. Jackson6
  • Péter Ábrahám2,3,7
  • Nicholas P. Ballering1,8
8 affiliations
  1. 1Space Science Institute
  2. 2HUN-REN Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences
  3. 3CSFK
  4. 4University of Arizona
  5. 5The University of Arizona
  6. 6Towson University
  7. 7University of Vienna
  8. 8University of Wisconsin-Madison
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Abstract

Debris disks are dusty structures around mature stars, primarily identified by infrared excesses in the stellar spectra. A subset, known as extreme debris disks (EDDs), exhibits stochastic infrared variability, believed to result from large-scale violent collisions that contribute to the formation or destruction of rocky planetary bodies. We analyze JWST and Spitzer mid-infrared spectra for 21 EDDs to investigate the connection between impact-produced dust mineralogy and the age and dynamical state of these systems during various stages of planet formation and evolution. Our findings indicate that EDDs contain significantly more optically thin, small dust grains compared to those typically seen in protoplanetary and debris disks. Predominantly submicron in size, these grains are thermally altered, as shown by their high levels of silica and crystalline silicate composition. Along with stochastic infrared variability, these features define EDDs as a subclass of debris systems where dust is generated from large collisions between Moon- and Mars-sized bodies. Our results not only provide diagnostic information about the physical conditions of violent events during terrestrial planet formation, aiding in differentiating the complex outcomes of these impacts, but also offer a potential marker for identifying planetary systems experiencing dynamical instability.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{su2026extreme,
  title = {{Extreme Debris Disks: Insights into Violent Collisions in Planet Formation and Destruction}},
  author = {Kate Y. L. Su and Attila Moór and Ágnes Kóspál and George H. Rieke and Antranik A. Sefilian and Renu Malhotra and Ilaria Pascucci and Alan P. Jackson and Péter Ábrahám and Nicholas P. Ballering},
  journal = {The Astrophysical Journal},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.3847/1538-4357/ae88fe},
  url = {https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/ae88fe},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Extreme Debris Disks: Insights into Violent Collisions in Planet Formation and Destruction
AU  - Kate Y. L. Su
AU  - Attila Moór
AU  - Ágnes Kóspál
AU  - George H. Rieke
AU  - Antranik A. Sefilian
AU  - Renu Malhotra
AU  - Ilaria Pascucci
AU  - Alan P. Jackson
AU  - Péter Ábrahám
AU  - Nicholas P. Ballering
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/01
JO  - The Astrophysical Journal
DO  - 10.3847/1538-4357/ae88fe
UR  - https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/ae88fe
AB  - Debris disks are dusty structures around mature stars, primarily identified by infrared excesses in the stellar spectra. A subset, known as extreme debris disks (EDDs), exhibits stochastic infrared variability, believed to result from large-scale violent collisions that contribute to the formation or destruction of rocky planetary bodies. We analyze JWST and Spitzer mid-infrared spectra for 21 EDDs to investigate the connection between impact-produced dust mineralogy and the age and dynamical state of these systems during various stages of planet formation and evolution. Our findings indicate that EDDs contain significantly more optically thin, small dust grains compared to those typically seen in protoplanetary and debris disks. Predominantly submicron in size, these grains are thermally altered, as shown by their high levels of silica and crystalline silicate composition. Along with stochastic infrared variability, these features define EDDs as a subclass of debris systems where dust is generated from large collisions between Moon- and Mars-sized bodies. Our results not only provide diagnostic information about the physical conditions of violent events during terrestrial planet formation, aiding in differentiating the complex outcomes of these impacts, but also offer a potential marker for identifying planetary systems experiencing dynamical instability.
SN  - 0004-637X
SN  - 1538-4357
ER  -