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2025MNRAS.542L..85S - Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc., 542, L85-L93 (2025/September-1)

Polar alignment of a circumbinary disc around a brown dwarf binary.

SMALLWOOD J.L., BAYCROFT T.A., TRIAUD A.H.M.J. and NELSON R.P.

Abstract (from CDS):

Inspired by recent observations suggesting that the retrograde precession of the brown dwarf binary 2M1510 AB is consistent with induction by a polar circumbinary planet, we investigate the formation of such planets by studying the evolution of a primordial misaligned circumbinary disc around a brown dwarf binary. Analytical calculations show that a critical tilt angle of $i_{\rm crit} \gtrsim 50^\circ$ for moderately eccentric binaries is needed for polar alignment of circumbinary discs in systems with low disc-to-binary angular momentum ratios. For higher ratios, this angle converges to the Kozai-Lidov instability threshold of ${\sim} 39^\circ$. We identify disc parameters, such as viscosity ($\alpha = 10^{-4}$) and aspect ratio ($H/r = 0.05$), that enable polar alignment within typical disc lifetimes. Notably, a circumbinary disc around a low-mass binary, such as a brown dwarf binary, will require more time to achieve polar alignment compared to higher mass systems. A hydrodynamical simulation confirms that an initially inclined disc around a brown dwarf evolves towards a polar state, creating favourable conditions for polar planet formation. Using these results, we finish by placing 2M1510 AB into a wider context and speculate why such a polar circumbinary configuration has not been identified before.

Abstract Copyright: © The Author(s) 2025. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Astronomical Society.

Journal keyword(s): hydrodynamics - methods: analytical - planets and satellites: formation - protoplanetary discs - binaries: general - brown dwarfs

Simbad objects: 11

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