On the asymmetry of the distribution of observable comets induced by a star passage through the Oort cloud

Astronomical Observatory of the A. Mickiewicz University, ul. Słoneczna 36, 60-286 Poznań, Poland

Corresponding author: dybol@amu.edu.pl

Received: 5 October 2001
Accepted: 28 November 2001

Abstract

Single passage of a star through the Oort cloud yields anisotropic distribution of observable long period comets. This conclusion emerges from our extensive Monte Carlo simulations of the directional distribution of long-period comets induced by a stellar passage through the Oort cloud. For a broad range of simulation parameters we obtained the asymmetric distribution of comets as result of a single stellar passage. A direct result of our simulation is a guide-line for studies of the anisotropies in the observed long-period comet sample and searching for fingerprints of a recent stellar passage. We obtained an isotropic distribution, as simulated by Weissman ([CITE]) only for a very peculiar choice of input parameters. The accuracy of our calculations was verified by consistency of the impulse approximation and direct orbit integration results.