Formed in the Albian Cretaceous, F8 Class Star HD 166191 is Having Collisions in its Habitable Zone

THE NEARBY, YOUNG, ISOLATED, DUSTY STAR HD 166191

Authors:

Schneider et al.

Abstract:

We report an in-depth study of the F8-type star HD 166191, identified in an ongoing survey for stars exhibiting infrared emission above their expected photospheres in the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer all-sky catalog. The fractional IR luminosity measured from 3.5 to 70 μm is exceptionally high (L IR/L bol ~ 10%). Near-diffraction-limited imaging observations with the T-ReCS Si filter set on the Gemini South telescope and adaptive optics imaging with the NIRC2 Lp filter on the Keck II telescope confirmed that the excess emission coincides with the star. Si-band images show a strong solid-state emission feature at ~10 μm. Theoretical evolutionary isochrones and optical spectroscopic observations indicate a stellar age in the range 10-100 Myr. The large dust mass seen in HD 166191's terrestrial planet zone is indicative of a recent collision between planetary embryos or massive ongoing collisional grinding associated with planet building.