A double debris disc around a white dwarf sculpted by two planetary bodies
Authors: N. P. Gentile Fusillo, Felipe Lagos-Vilches (University of Warwick, Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María), Boris T. Gänsicke (University of Warwick), Christopher J. Manser (Imperial College London), D. Koester (Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel), N. P. Gentile Fusillo (University of Trieste, Trieste Astronomical Observatory)
Abstract
Abstract Many planetary systems survive the metamorphosis of their host stars into white dwarfs, as demonstrated by the detection of dusty circumstellar discs around these stellar remnants and chemical signatures of planetary debris in atmospheres of these stars. A small fraction of these circumstellar discs also contain gas, detected in the form of emission lines from various ionic transitions (most commonly the near-infrared Ca II triplet). All of the 21 known gas discs exhibit double-peaked line profiles characteristic of a rotating flat disc. The mechanism behind the generation of gas is still debated, but for at least one system it has been linked with the presence of a surviving planetesimal embedded within the dust disc. Here we report the discovery of WD J132800.85–145019.95, a new gas-disc system that exhibits quadruple-peaked instead of double-peaked line profiles. These emission lines originate from two separate gaseous rings extending from 0.14 R ⊙ to 0.34 R ⊙ and from 0.54 R ⊙ to 1.93 R ⊙ . We propose that this structure results from the presence of two distinct planetary bodies within these discs, ranging in size from a few kilometres to the size of Pluto. The detection this stable double-disc presents a new challenge for the current models of debris disc formation and evolution.
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The frequency of gaseous debris discs around white dwarfsC. Manser, B. Gaensicke, N. G. Gentile Fusillo et al. · 2020 · Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society · cited 48 times · Not summarized yet
Abstract
A total of 1–3 per cent of white dwarfs are orbited by planetary dusty debris detectable as infrared emission in excess above the white dwarf flux. In a rare subset of these systems, a gaseous disc component is also detected via emission lines of the Ca ii 8600 A triplet, broadened by the Keplerian velocity of the disc. We present the first statistical study of the fraction of debris discs containing detectable amounts of gas in emission at white dwarfs within a magnitude and signal-to-noise ratio limited sample. We select 7705 single white dwarfs spectroscopically observed by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and Gaia with magnitudes g ≤ 19. We identify five gaseous disc hosts, all of whi…
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White dwarfs with planetary remnants in the era of Gaia – I. Six emission line systemsN. G. Fusillo, C. Manser, B. Gansicke et al. · 2020 · Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society · cited 26 times · Not summarized yet
Abstract
White dwarfs with emission lines from gaseous debris discs are among the rarest examples of planetary remnant hosts, but at the same time they are key objects for studying the final evolutionary stage of planetary systems. Making use of the large number of white dwarfs identified in Gaia Data Release 2 (DR2), we are conducting a survey of planetary remnants and here we present the first results of our search: six white dwarfs with gaseous debris discs. This first publication focuses on the main observational properties of these objects and highlights their most unique features. Three systems in particular stand out: WD J084602.47+570328.64 displays an exceptionally strong infrared excess tha…
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Collisions in a gas-rich white dwarf planetary debris discA. Swan, S. Kenyon, J. Farihi et al. · 2021 · Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society · cited 17 times · Not summarized yet
Abstract
ABSTRACT WD 0145+234 is a white dwarf that is accreting metals from a circumstellar disc of planetary material. It has exhibited a substantial and sustained increase in 3–5 \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{upgreek} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document} }{}$\mu$\end{document}m flux since 2018. Follow-up Spitzer photometry reveals that emission from the disc had begun to decrease by late 2019. Stochastic brightening events superimposed on the decline in brightness suggest the liberation of dust during collisional evolution of the circumstellar sol…
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Circumstellar Debris and Pollution at White Dwarf StarsJ. Farihi · 2016 · arXiv: Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · preprint, not peer reviewed · cited 215 times · Not summarized yet
Abstract
Circumstellar disks of planetary debris are now known or suspected to closely orbit hundreds of white dwarf stars. To date, both data and theory support disks that are entirely contained within the preceding giant stellar radii, and hence must have been produced during the white dwarf phase. This picture is strengthened by the signature of material falling onto the pristine stellar surfaces; disks are always detected together with atmospheric heavy elements. The physical link between this debris and the white dwarf host abundances enables unique insight into the bulk chemistry of extrasolar planetary systems via their remnants. This review summarizes the body of evidence supporting dynamical…
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The discovery of a debris disc around the DAV white dwarf PG 1541+651M. Kilic, A. Patterson, S. Barber et al. · 2011 · Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters · cited 18 times · Not summarized yet
Abstract
To search for circumstellar discs around evolved stars, we targeted roughly 100 DA white dwarfs from the Palomar Green survey with the Peters Automated Infrared Imaging Telescope (PAIRITEL). Here we report the discovery of a debris disc around one of these targets, the pulsating white dwarf PG 1541+651 (KX Draconis, hereafter PG1541). We detect a significant flux excess around PG1541 in the K band. Follow-up near-infrared spectroscopic observations obtained at the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility and photometric observations with the warm Spitzer Space Telescope confirm the presence of a warm debris disc within 0.13–0.36 R⊙ (11–32 × the stellar radius) at an inclination angle of 60°. At Teff…
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Circularization of tidal debris around white dwarfs: implications for gas production and dust variabilityU. Malamud, E. Grishin, M. Brouwers · 2020 · Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society · cited 24 times · Not summarized yet
Abstract
White dwarf (WD) pollution is thought to arise from the tidal disruption of planetary bodies. The initial fragment stream is extremely eccentric, while observational evidence suggest that discs are circular or nearly so. Here we propose a novel mechanism to bridge this gap and show that the fragments can rapidly circularise through dust or gas drag when they interact with a pre-existing compact disc. We assume that the tidal stream mainly consists of small cohesive fragments in the size range 10-1000 m, capable of resisting the WD tidal forces, whereas the compact discs span a wide mass range. We provide an analytical model, accompanied by N-body simulations, and find a large parameter space…
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Five New Post-main-sequence Debris Disks with Gaseous EmissionE. Dennihy, Si-Yi Xu, Samuel Lai et al. · 2020 · Astrophysical Journal · cited 33 times · Not summarized yet
Abstract
Observations of debris disks, the products of the collisional evolution of rocky planetesimals, can be used to trace planetary activity across a wide range of stellar types. The most common end points of stellar evolution are no exception, as debris disks have been observed around several dozen white dwarf stars. But instead of planetary formation, post-main-sequence debris disks are a signpost of planetary destruction, resulting in compact debris disks from the tidal disruption of remnant planetesimals. In this work, we present the discovery of five new debris disks around white dwarf stars with gaseous debris in emission. All five systems exhibit excess infrared radiation from dusty debris…
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Stirred but not shaken: a multi-wavelength view of HD 16743's debris discJonathan P. Marshall, Julien Milli, Elodie Choquet et al. · 2023 · Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · AI summary available
Abstract
Planetesimals -- asteroids and comets -- are the building blocks of planets in protoplanetary discs and the source of dust, ice and gas in debris discs. Along with planets they comprise the left-over material after star formation that constitutes a planetary system. Planets influence the dynamics of planetesimals, sculpting the orbits of debris belts to produce asymmetries or gaps. We can constrain the architecture of planetary systems, and infer the presence of unseen planetary companions, by high spatial resolution imaging of debris discs. HD~16743 is a relatively young F-type star that hosts a bright edge-on debris disc. Based on far-infrared \textit{Herschel} observations its disc was th…
Prior work it builds on
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The dust never settles: collisional production of gas and dust in evolved planetary systemsA. Swan, J. Farihi, T. G. Wilson et al. · 2020 · Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society · cited 28 times · Not summarized yet
Abstract
Multi-epoch infrared photometry from Spitzer is used to monitor circumstellar discs at white dwarfs, which are consistent with disrupted minor planets whose debris is accreted and chemically reflected by their host stars. Widespread infrared variability is found across the population of 37 stars with two or more epochs. Larger flux changes occur on longer time-scales, reaching several tens of per cent over baselines of a few years. The canonical model of a geometrically thin, optically thick disc is thus insufficient, as it cannot give rise to the observed behaviour. Optically thin dust best accounts for the variability, where collisions drive dust production and destruction. Notably, the hi…
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The frequency and infrared brightness of circumstellar discs at white dwarfsM. Rocchetto, J. Farihi, B. Gänsicke et al. · 2014 · Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society · cited 90 times · Not summarized yet
Abstract
White dwarfs whose atmospheres are polluted by terrestrial-like planetary debris have become a powerful and unique tool to study evolved planetary systems. This paper presents results for an unbiased Spitzer IRAC search for circumstellar dust orbiting a homogeneous and well-dened sample of 134 single white dwarfs. The stars were selected without regard to atmospheric metal content but were chosen to have 1) hydrogen rich atmospheres, 2) 17 000 K < Te < 25 000 K and correspondingly young post main-sequence ages of 15{270 Myr, and 3) sucient far-ultraviolet brightness for a corresponding Hubble Space Telescope COS Snapshot. Five white dwarfs were found to host an infrared bright dust disc, thr…
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INNER EDGES OF COMPACT DEBRIS DISKS AROUND METAL-RICH WHITE DWARFSR. Rafikov, José A. Garmilla · 2012 · The Astrophysical Journal · cited 61 times · Not summarized yet
Abstract
A number of metal-rich white dwarfs (WDs) are known to host compact, dense particle disks, which are thought to be responsible for metal pollution of these stars. In many such systems, the inner radii of disks inferred from their spectra are so close to the WD that particles directly exposed to starlight must be heated above 1500 K and are expected to be unstable against sublimation. To reconcile this expectation with observations, we explore particle sublimation in H-poor debris disks around WDs. We show that because of the high metal vapor pressure the characteristic sublimation temperature in these disks is 300–400 K higher than in their protoplanetary analogs, allowing particles to survi…
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The Geometry of the G29-38 White Dwarf Dust Disk from Radiative Transfer ModelingN. Ballering, Colette I. Levens, K. Su et al. · 2022 · Astrophysical Journal · cited 23 times · Not summarized yet
Abstract
Many white dwarfs host disks of dust produced by disintegrating planetesimals and revealed by infrared excesses. The disk around G29-38 was the first to be discovered and is now well-observed, yet we lack a cohesive picture of its geometry and dust properties. Here we model the G29-38 disk for the first time using radiative transfer calculations that account for radial and vertical temperature and optical depth gradients. We arrive at a set of models that can match the available infrared measurements well, although they overpredict the width of the 10 μm silicate feature. The resulting set of models has a disk inner edge located at 92–100 R WD (where R WD is the white dwarf radius). This is …
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Compositions of Planetary Debris around Dusty White DwarfsSi-Yi Xu, P. Dufour, B. Klein et al. · 2019 · Astronomical Journal · cited 63 times · Not summarized yet
Abstract
The photospheres of some white dwarfs (WDs) are “polluted” by accretion of material from their surrounding planetary debris. WDs with dust disks are often heavily polluted and high-resolution spectroscopic observations of these systems can be used to infer the chemical compositions of extrasolar planetary material. Here, we report spectroscopic observation and analysis of 19 WDs with dust disks or candidate disks. The overall abundance pattern very much resembles that of bulk Earth and we are starting to build a large enough sample to probe a wide range of planetary compositions. We found evidence for accretion of Fe-rich material onto two WDs as well as O-rich but H-poor planetary debris on…
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