Year: 2009
Type: article
Abstract: The anomalous chemical abundances and the structure of the Edgeworth–Kuiper belt observed in the solar system constrain the initial mass and radius of the star cluster in which the Sun was born to M ≃ 500–3000 M ☉ and R ≃ 1–3 pc. When the cluster dissolved, the siblings of the Sun dispersed through the galaxy, but they remained on a similar orbit around the Galactic center. Today these stars hide among the field stars, but 10–60 of them are still present within a distance of ∼100 pc. These siblings of the Sun can be identified by accurate measurements of their chemical abundances, positions, and their velocities. Finding even a few will strongly constrain the parameters of the parental star cluster and the location in the Galaxy where we were born.
Source: The Astrophysical Journal
Author: Simon F. Portegies Zwart
Institution: University of Amsterdam
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
Award: G5905734738
OpenAlex ID: W2154773847