Forming planetary systems that contain only minor planets

Abstract

Estimates of the frequency of planetary systems in the Milky Way are observationally limited by the low-mass planet regime. Nevertheless, substantial evidence for systems with undetectably low planetary masses now exist in the form of main-sequence stars which host debris discs, as well as metal-polluted white dwarfs. Further, low-mass sections of star formation regions impose upper bounds on protoplanetary disc masses, limiting the capacity for terrestrial or larger planets to form. Here, we use planetary population synthesis calculations to investigate the conditions that allow planetary systems to form only minor planets and smaller detritus. We simulate the accretional, collisional and migratory growth of 1017 kg embryonic seeds and then quantify which configurations with entirely sub-Earth-mass bodies (≲ 1024 kg) survive. We find that substantial regions of the initial parameter space allow for sub-terrestrial configurations to form, with the success rate most closely tied to the initial dust mass. Total dust mass budgets of up to 102M⊕ within 10 au can be insufficiently high to form terrestrial or giant planets, resulting in systems with only minor planets. Consequently, the prevalence of planetary systems throughout the Milky Way might be higher than what is typically assumed, and minor planet-only systems may help inform the currently uncertain correspondence between planet-hosting white dwarfs and metal-polluted white dwarfs.