Exploring the velocity distribution of interstellar objects across planetary architectures

Interstellar objects are small bodies gravitationally unbound from their parent star. While to date only two objects have been observed passing through the Solar System, the LSST all-sky survey of the upcoming Vera Rubin Observatory is projected to significantly increase this number. Rubin’s ability to characterize the source population requires a coherent theoretical understanding of the dynamics of the full Galactic ISO population, which is still under development. However, the velocity at which interstellar objects are ejected from their systems of origin depends on the system’s architecture and the current distance from the star of the planetesimals. By running simulations using the REBOUND package, we model the ejection velocity distribution of interstellar objects and compare the effects across various types of planetary systems.