Secondary gas in debris discs released by the decay of long-lived radioactive nuclides, catastrophic and resurfacing collisions

Kuiper-like belts of planetesimals orbiting stars other than the Sun are most com- monly detected from the thermal emission of small dust produced in collisions. Emis- sion from gas, most notably CO, highlights the cometary nature of these planetesimals. Here we present models for the release of gas from comet-like bodies in these belts, both due to their thermophysical evolution, most notably the decay of long-lived radioac- tive nuclides and collisions, including catastrophic and gentler resurfacing collisions. We show that the rate of gas release is not proportional to the rate of dust release, if non-catastrophic collisions or thermal evolution dominate the release of CO gas. In this case, care must be taken in inferring the composition of comets. Non-catastrophic collisions dominate the gas production at earlier times than catastrophic collisions, depending on the properties of the planetesimal belt. We highlight the importance of the thermal evolution of comets, including crucially the decay of long-lived radioactive nuclides, as a source of CO gas around young (< 50Myr) planetary systems, if large (10-100s kms) planetesimals are present.