Signatures of the giant planets imprinted on the Edgeworth-Kuiper belt dust disk

One method to detect extrasolar planetary systems is to deduce the perturbations of planets on the observed circumstellar dust disks. Our solar system, with its known con figuration of planets, provides an excellent example to study how the distribution of dust in the Edgeworth-Kuiper belt (EKB) dust disk is affected by the existence of multiple and different planets. Numerical simulations of the orbital evolution of dust particles from EKB objects show that Neptune, by trapping dust particles in mean motion resonances, creates a ringlike structure along its orbit. Jupiter and Saturn, by ejecting dust particles from the solar system, create a radial brightness profile inside 10 AU that is quite different from that of a dust disk without their perturbations. On the other hand, Uranus and the terrestrial planets do not produce significant signatures on the EKB dust disk. Our solar system would be recognized as a system with at least two planets if observed from afar.