English

Planetary Systems Around White Dwarfs

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics 2021-11-17 v2 Solar and Stellar Astrophysics

Abstract

White dwarf planetary science is a rapidly growing field of research featuring a diverse set of observations and theoretical explorations. Giant planets, minor planets, and debris discs have all been detected orbiting white dwarfs. The innards of broken-up minor planets are measured on an element-by-element basis, providing a unique probe of exoplanetary chemistry. Numerical simulations and analytical investigations trace the violent physical and dynamical history of these systems from au-scale distances to the immediate vicinity of the white dwarf, where minor planets are broken down into dust and gas and are accreted onto the white dwarf photosphere. Current and upcoming ground-based and space-based instruments are likely to further accelerate the pace of discoveries.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2106.06550,
  title  = {Planetary Systems Around White Dwarfs},
  author = {Dimitri Veras},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2106.06550},
  year   = {2021}
}

Comments

Invited review paper accepted for publication in the Oxford Research Encyclopedia. 39 pages, 10 expansive figures

R2 v1 2026-06-24T03:06:50.790Z