The dearth of high-mass hydrogen-atmosphere metal-polluted white dwarfs within 40 pc
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arXiv
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| Autori principali: | , , , , , , , , , |
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| Natura: | Preprint |
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2025
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| author | Cunningham, Tim Tremblay, Pier-Emmanuel O'Brien, Mairi Bauer, Evan B. Hollands, Mark A. Koester, Detlev Kenyon, Scott J. Charbonneau, David Veras, Dimitri Yusaf, Muhammad Furqaan |
| author_facet | Cunningham, Tim Tremblay, Pier-Emmanuel O'Brien, Mairi Bauer, Evan B. Hollands, Mark A. Koester, Detlev Kenyon, Scott J. Charbonneau, David Veras, Dimitri Yusaf, Muhammad Furqaan |
| contents | We present a population synthesis model which addresses the different mass distributions of the metal-polluted and non-metal-polluted hydrogen-atmosphere white dwarfs identified in volume-limited samples. Specifically, metal-pollution has been observed to be rare in white dwarfs more massive than $\approx$0.7 $M_{\odot}$. Our population synthesis model invokes episodic accretion of planetary debris onto a synthetic population of white dwarfs. We find that the observed difference can be explained in the regime where most debris disks last for $10^4$$-$$10^6$ years. This is broadly consistent with observational estimates that disk lifetimes are on the order 10$^5$$-$10$^7$ years. We also invoke an alternate model which explores an upper limit on planetary system formation and survival around the intermediate-mass progenitors of the more massive white dwarfs. In this scenario, we find an upper limit on the polluted white dwarf mass of $M_{\rm wd}<0.72^{+0.07}_{-0.03}$ M$_{\odot}$. This implies an empirical maximum progenitor mass of $M_{\rm ZAMS}^{\rm max}=2.9^{+0.7}_{-0.3}$ M$_{\odot}$. This value is consistent with the maximum reliable host star mass of currently known exoplanet systems. We conclude by imposing these two results on the sample of He-atmosphere white dwarfs within 40\,pc. We find that both scenarios are capable of providing a consistent solution to the full sample of H- and He-atmosphere white dwarfs. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2503_09734 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | The dearth of high-mass hydrogen-atmosphere metal-polluted white dwarfs within 40 pc Cunningham, Tim Tremblay, Pier-Emmanuel O'Brien, Mairi Bauer, Evan B. Hollands, Mark A. Koester, Detlev Kenyon, Scott J. Charbonneau, David Veras, Dimitri Yusaf, Muhammad Furqaan Solar and Stellar Astrophysics Earth and Planetary Astrophysics We present a population synthesis model which addresses the different mass distributions of the metal-polluted and non-metal-polluted hydrogen-atmosphere white dwarfs identified in volume-limited samples. Specifically, metal-pollution has been observed to be rare in white dwarfs more massive than $\approx$0.7 $M_{\odot}$. Our population synthesis model invokes episodic accretion of planetary debris onto a synthetic population of white dwarfs. We find that the observed difference can be explained in the regime where most debris disks last for $10^4$$-$$10^6$ years. This is broadly consistent with observational estimates that disk lifetimes are on the order 10$^5$$-$10$^7$ years. We also invoke an alternate model which explores an upper limit on planetary system formation and survival around the intermediate-mass progenitors of the more massive white dwarfs. In this scenario, we find an upper limit on the polluted white dwarf mass of $M_{\rm wd}<0.72^{+0.07}_{-0.03}$ M$_{\odot}$. This implies an empirical maximum progenitor mass of $M_{\rm ZAMS}^{\rm max}=2.9^{+0.7}_{-0.3}$ M$_{\odot}$. This value is consistent with the maximum reliable host star mass of currently known exoplanet systems. We conclude by imposing these two results on the sample of He-atmosphere white dwarfs within 40\,pc. We find that both scenarios are capable of providing a consistent solution to the full sample of H- and He-atmosphere white dwarfs. |
| title | The dearth of high-mass hydrogen-atmosphere metal-polluted white dwarfs within 40 pc |
| topic | Solar and Stellar Astrophysics Earth and Planetary Astrophysics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.09734 |