Related papers: Disks and Planets Around Massive White Dwarfs

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…

Although 25%-50% of white dwarfs (WDs) display evidence for remnant planetary systems, their orbital architectures and overall sizes remain unknown. Vibrant close-in (~1 Solar radius) circumstellar activity is detected at WDs spanning many…

Gaseous and dust debris disks around white dwarfs (WDs) are formed from tidally disrupted planetary bodies. This offers an opportunity to determine the composition of exoplanetary material by measuring element abundances in the accreting…

This is a short and rather narrative summary of our ongoing efforts in identifying white dwarfs with gaseous debris disks, and developing an understanding of the structure and origin of these disks.

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 commonality of collisionally replenished debris around main sequence stars suggests that minor bodies are frequent around Sun-like stars. Whether or not debris disks in general are accompanied by planets is yet unknown, but debris disks…

In this paper we intend to provide an indirect method to detect Jovian planets by studying near infrared emission spectra originating in the protoplanetary disks around T Tauri stars. Our idea is to investigate whether a massive planet…

The search for transiting habitable exoplanets has broadened to include several types of stars that are smaller than the Sun in an attempt to increase the observed transit depth and hence the atmospheric signal of the planet. Of all…

The eccentric orbits of the known extrasolar giant planets provide evidence that most planet-forming environments undergo violent dynamical instabilities. Here, we numerically simulate the impact of giant planet instabilities on planetary…

We suggest that Jovian planets will survive the late stages of stellar evolution, and that white dwarfs will retain planetary systems in wide orbits (>5AU). Utilising evolutionary models for Jovian planets, we show that infra-red imaging…

The near-term search for life beyond the solar system currently focuses on transiting planets orbiting small M dwarfs, and the challenges of detecting signs of life in their atmospheres. However, planets orbiting white dwarfs (WDs) would…

Astronomers have discovered thousands of planets outside the solar system, most of which orbit stars that will eventually evolve into red giants and then into white dwarfs. During the red giant phase, any close-orbiting planets will be…

Excess infrared flux from white dwarf stars is likely to arise from a dusty debris disk or a cool companion. In this work, we present near-infrared spectroscopic observations with Keck/MOSFIRE, Gemini/GNIRS, and Gemini/Flamingos-2 of seven…

We have bandmerged candidate transiting planetary systems (from the Kepler satellite) and confirmed transiting planetary systems (from the literature) with the recent Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) preliminary release catalog.…

We investigate the potential of high-precision astrometry with GAIA for detection of giant planetary companions to nearby white dwarfs. If one considers that, to date, no confirmed planets around single white dwarfs are known, the results…

Detecting gaseous debris disks around white dwarfs offers a unique window into the ultimate fate of planetary systems and the composition of accreted planetary material. Here we present a systematic search for such disks through the Ca II…

We have completed a systematic survey for disks around young brown dwarfs and very low mass stars. By choosing a well-defined sample and by obtaining sensitive thermal IR observations, we can make an unbiased measurement of the disk…

We present a bulk sample analysis of the metal polluted white dwarfs which also host infrared bright dusty debris disks, known to be direct signatures of an active exoplanetary accretion source. We explore the relative positions of these…

Theories of planet formation predict the birth of giant planets in the inner, dense, and gas-rich regions of the circumstellar disks around young stars. These are the regions from which strong CO emission is expected. Observations have so…

The aim of the Degenerate Objects around Degenerate Objects (DODO) survey is to search for very low mass brown dwarfs and extrasolar planets in wide orbits around white dwarfs via direct imaging. The direct detection of such companions…