Constraints on the Lifetimes of Disks Resulting from Tidally Destroyed Rocky Planetary Bodies
Abstract
Spitzer IRAC observations of 15 metal-polluted white dwarfs reveal infrared excesses in the spectral energy distributions of HE 0110-5630, GD 61, and HE 1349-2305. All three of these stars have helium-dominated atmospheres, and their infrared emissions are consistent with warm dust produced by the tidal destruction of (minor) planetary bodies. This study brings the number of metal-polluted, helium and hydrogen atmosphere white dwarfs surveyed with IRAC to 53 and 38, respectively. It also nearly doubles the number of metal-polluted helium-rich white dwarfs found to have closely orbiting dust by Spitzer. From the increased statistics for both atmospheric types with circumstellar dust, we derive a typical disk lifetime of log [t disk(yr)] = 5.6 ± 1.1 (ranging from 3 × 104 to 5 × 106 yr). This assumes a relatively constant rate of accretion over the timescale where dust persists, which is uncertain. We find that the fraction of highly metal-polluted helium-rich white dwarfs that have an infrared excess detected by Spitzer is only 23%, compared to 48% for metal-polluted hydrogen-rich white dwarfs, and we conclude from this difference that the typical lifetime of dusty disks is somewhat shorter than the diffusion timescales of helium-rich white dwarf. We also find evidence for higher time-averaged accretion rates onto helium-rich stars compared to the instantaneous accretion rates onto hydrogen-rich stars; this is an indication that our picture of evolved star-planetary system interactions is incomplete. We discuss some speculative scenarios that can explain the observations.
- Publication:
-
The Astrophysical Journal
- Pub Date:
- April 2012
- DOI:
- 10.1088/0004-637X/749/2/154
- arXiv:
- arXiv:1202.3784
- Bibcode:
- 2012ApJ...749..154G
- Keywords:
-
- circumstellar matter;
- minor planets;
- asteroids: general;
- planetary systems;
- stars: abundances;
- white dwarfs;
- Astrophysics - Earth and Planetary Astrophysics;
- Astrophysics - Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
- E-Print:
- 20 pages, 9 figures, accepted to be published in ApJ