Collisions of Free Floating Planets with Evolved Stars in Globular Clusters

We estimate the rate of collisions between stars and free-floating planets (FFPs) in globular clusters, in particular the collision of FFPs with red giant branch (RGB) stars. Recent dynamical simulations imply that the density of such objects could exceed ∼ 10 pc near the cores of rich globular clusters. We show that in these clusters ∼ 5− 10% of all RGB stars near the core would suffer a collision with a FFP, and that such a collision can spin up the RGB star’s envelope by an order of magnitude. In turn, the higher rotation rates may lead to enhanced mass-loss rates on the RGB, which could result in bluer horizontal branch (HB) stars. Hence, it is plausible that the presence of a large population of FFPs in a globular cluster can influence the distribution of stars on the HB of that cluster to a detectable degree. Subject headings: globular clusters: general — globular clusters — stars: horizontal-branch — stars: planets