The Great Escape II: Exoplanet Ejection from Dying Multiple Star Systems

Understand

Extrasolar planets and belts of debris orbiting post-main-sequence single stars may become unbound as the evolving star loses mass.

• In multiple star systems, the presence or co-evolution of the additional stars can significantly complicate the prospects for orbital excitation and escape.
• Here, we investigate the dynamical consequences of multi-phasic, nonlinear mass loss and establish a criterion for a system of any stellar multiplicity to retain a planet whose orbit surrounds all of the parent stars.
• For single stars which become white dwarfs, this criterion can be combined with the Chandrasekhar Limit to establish the maximum allowable mass loss rate for planet retention.