Swan, A;
Farihi, J;
Su, KYL;
Desch, SJ;
(2024)
The first white dwarf debris disc observed by JWST.
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
, 529
(1)
L41-L46.
10.1093/mnrasl/slad198.
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Abstract
This letter reports the first JWST spectroscopy of a white dwarf debris disc, giving a preliminary assessment of the salient features, and recommendations for future observations. The polluted and dusty star WD 0145+234 experienced a major collisional event in its circumstellar disc in 2018, accompanied by an infrared outburst, and subsequently a gradual decrease in thermal emission. Time-series NIRSpec observations demonstrate that the circumstellar disc is returning to a quiescent state with a T ≈ 1000 K infrared excess similar to the bulk of known dusty white dwarfs. MIRI spectroscopy reveals a 9-12 μm solid-state emission feature consistent with silicate minerals as seen in debris discs observed with Spitzer. The strength and morphology of the silicate feature appear unchanged relative to the continuum in spectra taken over a year apart, consistent with steady-state collisional evolution of the circumstellar debris. A tentative emission feature around 7 μm may be due to carbonates, and if confirmed would indicate aqueous alteration in the parent body.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | The first white dwarf debris disc observed by JWST |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1093/mnrasl/slad198 |
| Publisher version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/mnrasl/slad198 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | © The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Astronomical Society. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Keywords: | circumstellar matter – stars: individual: WD 0145+234 – planetary systems – white dwarfs. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Physics and Astronomy |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10186702 |
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