Descripción del proyecto
¿Qué les pasa a los planetas cuando sus estrellas anfitrionas se quedan sin combustible?
Las estrellas son increíblemente inmensas. La mayor parte de su masa es hidrógeno, cuya fusión produce helio y genera energía, que es liberada en forma de luz y calor. Las enanas blancas son estrellas que han «quemado» todo su hidrógeno. Siguen brillando porque siguen desprendiendo calor, pero el destino de sus planetas no está claro. En 2021, unos astrónomos descubrieron un gigante gaseoso que orbitaba alrededor de una enana blanca en nuestra galaxia. El proyecto WDPlanets, financiado con fondos europeos, está buscando otras enanas blancas que acumulen restos de sistemas planetarios mediante las observaciones astrométricas, espectroscópicas y fotométricas de algunos de los observatorios más avanzados del mundo.
Objetivo
In the 25 years since the discovery of 51 Peg b, we went from not knowing if the Solar system is a fluke of Nature to realising that it is totally normal for stars to have planets. The common fate of practically all planet hosts is that they will eventually evolve into white dwarfs, the Earth-sized embers that are the evolutionary end-points of most stars. Many of the known planets will survive the post main-sequence evolution of their host stars - in the solar system, this includes Mars, and all planetary bodies beyond it.
Firm evidence for evolved planetary systems at white dwarfs is found in the form of photospheric contamination from the accretion of planetary material, transits caused by clouds of debris, spectroscopic variability from planetesimals on ultra-short period orbits, and one volatile-rich gaseous disc formed from the evaporated atmosphere of a giant planet. These evolved planetary systems provide insight into the formation, structure, evolution, and ultimate fate of planets that are entirely complementary to, and in large parts unattainable by, the analyses of exo-planets orbiting main-sequence stars.
Within this project, we will make use of the astrometric, spectroscopic and photometric observations from Gaia, DESI, WEAVE, SDSS-V and ZTF-II to carry out an ambitious and comprehensive research program of white dwarfs hosting remnants of planetary systems. (1) We will measure the bulk abundances of at least 1000 planetesimals from the spectroscopic analysis of newly discovered white dwarfs that are strongly contaminated by the accretion of planetary material, assembling detailed statistics of the composition of planetary building blocks and/or fragments. (2) We will identify dozens of minor and major planets in close orbits around white dwarfs, and we will characterise their physical and orbital properties. The combined results of both areas of research will greatly improve our understanding of the formation, structure, and evolution of planets.
Ámbito científico
Programa(s)
Régimen de financiación
ERC-ADG - Advanced GrantInstitución de acogida
CV4 8UW COVENTRY
Reino Unido