Published September 29, 2025
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The Origins & Reservoirs of Exocomets.

Creators

  • 1. School of Physical and Chemical Sciences - Te Kura Matū, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch, 8140 New Zealand.
  • 2. Jülich Supercomputing Centre, Research Centre Jülich, Wilhelm-Johnen-Strasse, Jülich, 52428 Germany.
  • 3. Department of Physics, University of Warwick, Gibbet Hill Road, Coventry, CV4 7AL United Kingdom.
  • 4. University of Warwick
  • 5. Department of Physics, Lund University, Box 118, Lund, 22100 Sweden.
  • 6. Lund University
  • 7. Max Planck Institut für Astronomie, Königstuhl 17, Heidelberg, 69117 Germany.
  • 8. Division of Science, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, 2-21-1, Osawa, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8551 Japan.
  • 9. Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy & Astrophysics, 11F of Astronomy-Mathematics Building, AS/NTU, No.1, Sec. 4, Roosevelt Rd, Taipei, 106319 Taiwan, R.O.C.
  • 10. Academia Sinica
  • 11. Institute of Astronomy and NAO, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 72 Tsarigradsko Chaussee Blvd., Sofia, 1784 Bulgaria.
  • 12. International Space Science Institute, Hallerstrasse 6, Bern, 3012 Switzerland.
  • 13. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Exeter, Stocker Road, Exeter, EX4 4QL UK.
  • 14. University of Exeter
  • 15. Department of Physics, Auburn University, Edmund C. Leach Science Center, Auburn, 36849 AL USA.
  • 16. Laboratoire J.-L. Lagrange, Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, CNRS, CS 34229, Nice Cedex 4, 06304 France.
  • 17. Department of Physics and Astronomy, Michigan State University, East Lansing, 48824 MI USA.
  • 18. Michigan State University
  • 19. UCL Mullard Space Science Laboratory, Holmbury St. Mary, Dorking, RH5 6NT UK.
  • 20. University College London
  • 21. European Space Technology Centre (ESTEC), European Space Agency, Keplerlaan 1, 2200 AG Noordwijk, The Netherlands.
  • 22. Centre for Exoplanets and Habitability, University of Warwick, Gibbet Hill Road, Coventry, CV4 7AL UK.
  • 23. Centre for Space Domain Awareness, University of Warwick, Gibbet Hill Road, Coventry, CV4 7AL UK.

Description

Small bodies exist in distinct populations within their planetary systems. These reservoir populations hold a range of compositions, which to first order are dependent on formation location relative to their star. We provide a general overview of the nature of the reservoirs that source exocomets, from the influence of the stellar environment through planetesimal formation to comparisons with Solar System populations. Once transitioned from a young protoplanetary disc to a debris disc, a star can expect to be rained with exocomets. While exocomets are predominantly detected to date at A-type stars, planetesimals plausibly exist across a range of stellar masses, based on exoplanet abundance, debris disc occurrence and white dwarf infall.
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