---
DOAJ_listed: '1'
OA_place: publisher
OA_type: diamond
PlanS_conform: '1'
_id: '23046'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: Most stars form in dense stellar environments, where frequent close encounters
    can strongly perturb and reshape the early architecture of planetary systems.
    The Solar System, with its rich population of distant comets, provides a natural
    laboratory to study these processes. We performed detailed numerical simulations
    using the LonelyPlanets framework that combines NBODY6++GPU and REBOUND to explore
    the evolution of debris disks around Solar System analogues embedded in stellar
    clusters. Two initial configurations are considered, the Extended model and the
    Compact model, each containing four giant planets and either an extended or compact
    debris disk. We find that compact disks primarily form Kuiper belt and scattered
    disk-like populations through planet–disk interactions, while extended disks are
    more strongly shaped by stellar encounters, producing Oort cloud-like structures
    and interstellar comets with ejection velocities of 1–3 km s−1. Stellar perturbations
    are most effective for encounter inclinations between 0° and 30°, giving rise
    to distinct dynamical populations, like Sednoids, and inner Oort cloud analogues,
    and a characteristic tail in semimajor axis-eccentricity space. In coplanar encounters,
    the disk remains largely flattened, whereas polar flybys redistribute angular
    momentum vertically, producing nearly isotropic outer populations that resemble
    an emerging Oort cloud. Our results suggest that cometary reservoirs and interstellar
    objects are natural byproducts of planet–disk interactions and stellar flybys
    in dense clusters, linking the architecture of outer planetary systems to their
    birth environments.
acknowledgement: "We thank the referee for their suggestions and comments,\r\nwhich
  helped us improve the quality and clarity of the paper. S.T. thanks\r\nYlva Götberg,
  Maxwell Cai, Diptajyoti Mukherjee, Simon Portegies Zwart, and\r\nAnthony Brown for
  their valuable feedback and comments. S.T. acknowledges\r\nthe funding from the
  European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation\r\nprogram under the Marie
  Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 101034413."
article_number: A301
article_processing_charge: No
article_type: original
arxiv: 1
author:
- first_name: Santiago
  full_name: Torres Rodriguez, Santiago
  id: a8df4360-4328-11ee-8f1a-e502d0c83fc2
  last_name: Torres Rodriguez
  orcid: 0000-0002-3150-8988
citation:
  ama: Torres Rodriguez S. Implications for the formation of Oort cloud-like structures
    and interstellar comets in dense environments. <i>Astronomy &#38; Astrophysics</i>.
    2026;708. doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202554978">10.1051/0004-6361/202554978</a>
  apa: Torres Rodriguez, S. (2026). Implications for the formation of Oort cloud-like
    structures and interstellar comets in dense environments. <i>Astronomy &#38; Astrophysics</i>.
    EDP Sciences. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202554978">https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202554978</a>
  chicago: Torres Rodriguez, Santiago. “Implications for the Formation of Oort Cloud-like
    Structures and Interstellar Comets in Dense Environments.” <i>Astronomy &#38;
    Astrophysics</i>. EDP Sciences, 2026. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202554978">https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202554978</a>.
  ieee: S. Torres Rodriguez, “Implications for the formation of Oort cloud-like structures
    and interstellar comets in dense environments,” <i>Astronomy &#38; Astrophysics</i>,
    vol. 708. EDP Sciences, 2026.
  ista: Torres Rodriguez S. 2026. Implications for the formation of Oort cloud-like
    structures and interstellar comets in dense environments. Astronomy &#38; Astrophysics.
    708, A301.
  mla: Torres Rodriguez, Santiago. “Implications for the Formation of Oort Cloud-like
    Structures and Interstellar Comets in Dense Environments.” <i>Astronomy &#38;
    Astrophysics</i>, vol. 708, A301, EDP Sciences, 2026, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202554978">10.1051/0004-6361/202554978</a>.
  short: S. Torres Rodriguez, Astronomy &#38; Astrophysics 708 (2026).
corr_author: '1'
das_tickbox: '1'
dataavailabilitystatement: Movies associated with Figs. 3 and 9 are available at https://www.aanda.org
date_created: 2026-10-04T22:01:54Z
date_published: 2026-04-01T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2026-10-20T08:14:04Z
day: '01'
ddc:
- '520'
department:
- _id: LiBu
doi: 10.1051/0004-6361/202554978
ec_funded: 1
external_id:
  arxiv:
  - '2510.23653'
file:
- access_level: open_access
  checksum: 3ea1c5f0fabaa005a4aac7e46f4b6d9c
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  date_created: 2026-10-07T12:22:19Z
  date_updated: 2026-10-07T12:22:19Z
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fulldoi: https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202554978
has_accepted_license: '1'
intvolume: '       708'
language:
- iso: eng
month: '04'
oa: 1
oa_version: Published Version
project:
- _id: fc2ed2f7-9c52-11eb-aca3-c01059dda49c
  call_identifier: H2020
  grant_number: '101034413'
  name: 'IST-BRIDGE: International postdoctoral program'
publication: Astronomy & Astrophysics
publication_identifier:
  eissn:
  - 1432-0746
  issn:
  - 0004-6361
publication_status: published
publisher: EDP Sciences
quality_controlled: '1'
researchdata_availability: no
scopus_import: '1'
status: public
supplementarymaterial: no
title: Implications for the formation of Oort cloud-like structures and interstellar
  comets in dense environments
tmp:
  image: /images/cc_by.png
  legal_code_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode
  name: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0)
  short: CC BY (4.0)
type: journal_article
user_id: 2DF688A6-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
volume: 708
year: '2026'
...