Related papers: Planetary engulfment as a trigger for white dwarf …
White dwarfs have atmospheres that are expected to consist nearly entirely of hydrogen and helium, since heavier elements will sink out of sight on short timescales. However, observations have revealed atmospheric pollution by heavier…
Approximately $0.2 \pm 0.2$ of white dwarfs (WDs) show signs of pollution by metals, which is likely due to the accretion of tidally disrupted planetary material. Models invoking planet-planet interactions after WD formation generally…
Metal pollution in white dwarf atmospheres is likely to be a signature of remnant planetary systems. Most explanations for this pollution predict a sharp decrease in the number of polluted systems with white dwarf cooling age. Observations…
At least 25% of white dwarfs show atmospheric pollution by metals, sometimes accompanied by detectable circumstellar dust/gas discs or (in the case of WD 1145+017) transiting disintegrating asteroids. Delivery of planetesimals to the white…
It has long been suspected that metal polluted white dwarfs (types DAZ, DBZ, and DZ) and white dwarfs with dusty disks possess planetary systems, but a specific physical mechanism by which planetesimals are perturbed close to a white dwarf…
The atmospheres of between one quarter and one half of observed single white dwarfs in the Milky Way contain heavy element pollution from planetary debris. The pollution observed in white dwarfs in binary star systems is, however, less…
Secular oscillations in multi-planet systems can drive chaotic evolution of a small inner body through non-linear resonant perturbations. This "secular chaos" readily pushes the inner body to an extreme eccentricity, triggering tidal…
In the past few decades, observations have revealed signatures of metals polluting the atmospheres of white dwarfs. The diffusion timescale for metals to sink from the atmosphere of a white dwarf is of the order of days for a…
Infrared studies have revealed debris likely related to planet formation in orbit around ~30% of youthful, intermediate mass, main sequence stars. We present evidence, based on atmospheric pollution by various elements heavier than helium,…
Asteroid material is detected in white dwarfs (WDs) as atmospheric pollution by metals, in the form of gas/dust discs, or in photometric transits. Within the current paradigm, minor bodies need to be scattered, most likely by planets, into…
About 25\% -50\% of white dwarfs (WDs) are found to be polluted by heavy elements. It has been argued that the pollution could be caused by the tidal disruption of an approaching planet around the WD, during which a large number of clumps…
There is a wealth of evidence to suggest that planetary systems can survive beyond the main sequence. Most commonly, white dwarfs are found to be accreting material from tidally disrupted asteroids, whose bulk compositions are reflected by…
The surfaces of many white dwarfs are polluted by metals, implying a recent accretion event. The tidal disruption of planetesimals is a viable source of white dwarf pollution and offers a unique window into the composition of exoplanet…
The destiny of planetary systems through the late evolution of their host stars is very uncertain. We report a metal-rich gas disk around a moderately hot and young white dwarf. A dynamical model of the double-peaked emission lines…
White dwarf planetary systems provide a unique way to measure the bulk composition of exoplanetary material. Extrasolar asteroids/comets/moons which have survived the evolution of their host star can end up in the atmosphere of the white…
Planetary material accreted by white dwarfs provides unique insights regarding exoplanetary composition. The evolutionary pathways of planetary bodies around white dwarfs are crucial to understanding the presence of close-in planetary…
The evolution of planetary systems around white dwarfs is crucial to understanding the presence of planetary material in the atmospheres of white dwarfs. These systems uniquely probe exoplanetary compositions. Periodic signals in the…
Extrapolating from the solar system's asteroid belt, we propose that externally-contaminated white dwarfs without an infrared excess may be experiencing continuous accretion of gas-phase material that ultimately is derived from the tidal…
Planetary systems commonly survive the evolution of single stars, as evidenced by terrestrial-like planetesimal debris observed orbiting and polluting the surfaces of white dwarfs. This letter reports the identification of a circumbinary…
Pollution of white dwarf atmospheres may be caused by asteroids that originate from the locations of secular and mean-motion resonances in planetary systems. Asteroids in these locations experience increased eccentricity, leading to tidal…