Metal-polluted White Dwarfs with 21 μm IR Excesses from JWST/MIRI: Planets or Dust?
White dwarfs with metal pollution are caused by the accretion of rocky dust from tidally disrupted minor bodies and are signposts for planetary systems. These minor bodies are perturbed by planets that have survived post-main-sequence evolution. Open questions exist as to the typical mass of the per...
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IOP Publishing
2025-01-01
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| Series: | The Astronomical Journal |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/ade68c |
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| author | John H. Debes Sabrina Poulsen Ashley Messier Susan E. Mullally Katherine Thibault Loïc Albert Misty Cracraft Érika Le Bourdais Patrick Dufour Tom Barclay J. J. Hermes Mukremin Kilic David Lafrenière Fergal Mullally William Reach Elisa Quintana |
| author_facet | John H. Debes Sabrina Poulsen Ashley Messier Susan E. Mullally Katherine Thibault Loïc Albert Misty Cracraft Érika Le Bourdais Patrick Dufour Tom Barclay J. J. Hermes Mukremin Kilic David Lafrenière Fergal Mullally William Reach Elisa Quintana |
| author_sort | John H. Debes |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | White dwarfs with metal pollution are caused by the accretion of rocky dust from tidally disrupted minor bodies and are signposts for planetary systems. These minor bodies are perturbed by planets that have survived post-main-sequence evolution. Open questions exist as to the typical mass of the perturbers and the specific planetary architectures that cause metal pollution. JWST’s sensitivity in the mid-IR has opened new doors to deciphering polluted white dwarfs. We present JWST Cycle 1 mid-infrared instrument imaging of four nearby metal-polluted white dwarfs with the goal of detecting and characterizing planetary companions. With deep mid-IR imaging we are sensitive to cold Jupiter-mass planet analogs. In addition to finding two candidate planetary companions, for the first time we detect significant excesses above the expected photospheric emission at 21 μ m for two of our targets, WD 2149+021 and WD 2105−820. WD 2105−820 has a candidate planetary companion at a projected separation of 34 au and an IR excess—if both candidates are confirmed, it would represent the first WD multiplanet system. We investigate whether these excesses could be caused by very low luminosity warm dust disks or planets. While both are likely, we argue that the most likely explanation for the excesses is that they are the thermal emission from Jovian-mass planets in orbits with semimajor axes <10 au, using a combination of observational constraints. If most of the candidate planets presented here are confirmed, it would suggest that metal-polluted white dwarfs are frequently orbited by at least one giant planet. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-15469f15e6cd4803b8ef250ce8c49af3 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1538-3881 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Astronomical Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-15469f15e6cd4803b8ef250ce8c49af32025-08-20T03:09:16ZengIOP PublishingThe Astronomical Journal1538-38812025-01-01170212310.3847/1538-3881/ade68cMetal-polluted White Dwarfs with 21 μm IR Excesses from JWST/MIRI: Planets or Dust?John H. Debes0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1783-8817Sabrina Poulsen1https://orcid.org/0009-0008-7425-8609Ashley Messier2https://orcid.org/0009-0002-4970-3930Susan E. Mullally3https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7106-4683Katherine Thibault4https://orcid.org/0009-0004-6806-1675Loïc Albert5https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0475-9375Misty Cracraft6https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7698-3002Érika Le Bourdais7https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3307-1062Patrick Dufour8https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4609-4500Tom Barclay9https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7139-2724J. J. Hermes10https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5941-2286Mukremin Kilic11https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6098-2235David Lafrenière12https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6780-4252Fergal Mullally13https://orcid.org/0009-0004-7656-2402William Reach14https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8362-4094Elisa Quintana15ESA for AURA, The Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Dr., Baltimore, MD 21218, USAHomer L. Dodge Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Oklahoma , 440 W. Brooks St., Norman, OK 73019, USAFive College Astronomy Department, Amherst College , Amherst, MA 01002, USAESA for AURA, The Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Dr., Baltimore, MD 21218, USADépartement de physique and Institut Trottier de recherche sur les exoplanètes, Université de Montréal , C.P. 6128, Succ. Centre-ville, Montréal, QC H3C 3J7, Canada; Observatoire du Mont-Mégantic, Université de Montréal , C.P. 6128, Succ. Centre-ville, Montréal, QC H3C 3J7, CanadaDépartement de physique and Institut Trottier de recherche sur les exoplanètes, Université de Montréal , C.P. 6128, Succ. Centre-ville, Montréal, QC H3C 3J7, Canada; Observatoire du Mont-Mégantic, Université de Montréal , C.P. 6128, Succ. Centre-ville, Montréal, QC H3C 3J7, CanadaESA for AURA, The Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Dr., Baltimore, MD 21218, USADépartement de physique and Institut Trottier de recherche sur les exoplanètes, Université de Montréal , C.P. 6128, Succ. Centre-ville, Montréal, QC H3C 3J7, CanadaDépartement de physique and Institut Trottier de recherche sur les exoplanètes, Université de Montréal , C.P. 6128, Succ. Centre-ville, Montréal, QC H3C 3J7, CanadaNASA Goddard Space Flight Center , Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA; University of Maryland , Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD 21250, USADepartment of Astronomy, Boston University , 725 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, USAHomer L. Dodge Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Oklahoma , 440 W. Brooks St., Norman, OK 73019, USAInstitut Trottier de Recherche sur les exoplanètes, Université de Montréal , C.P. 6128, Succ. Centre-ville, Montréal, QC H3C 3J7, Canada; Département de Physique, Université de Montréal , C.P. 6128, Succ. Centre-ville, Montréal, QC H3C 3J7, CanadaConstellation , 1310 Point Street, Baltimore, MD 21231, USASpace Science Institute , 4765 Walnut Street, Suite 205, Boulder, CO 80301, USANASA Goddard Space Flight Center , Greenbelt, MD 20771, USAWhite dwarfs with metal pollution are caused by the accretion of rocky dust from tidally disrupted minor bodies and are signposts for planetary systems. These minor bodies are perturbed by planets that have survived post-main-sequence evolution. Open questions exist as to the typical mass of the perturbers and the specific planetary architectures that cause metal pollution. JWST’s sensitivity in the mid-IR has opened new doors to deciphering polluted white dwarfs. We present JWST Cycle 1 mid-infrared instrument imaging of four nearby metal-polluted white dwarfs with the goal of detecting and characterizing planetary companions. With deep mid-IR imaging we are sensitive to cold Jupiter-mass planet analogs. In addition to finding two candidate planetary companions, for the first time we detect significant excesses above the expected photospheric emission at 21 μ m for two of our targets, WD 2149+021 and WD 2105−820. WD 2105−820 has a candidate planetary companion at a projected separation of 34 au and an IR excess—if both candidates are confirmed, it would represent the first WD multiplanet system. We investigate whether these excesses could be caused by very low luminosity warm dust disks or planets. While both are likely, we argue that the most likely explanation for the excesses is that they are the thermal emission from Jovian-mass planets in orbits with semimajor axes <10 au, using a combination of observational constraints. If most of the candidate planets presented here are confirmed, it would suggest that metal-polluted white dwarfs are frequently orbited by at least one giant planet.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/ade68cWhite dwarf starsExoplanetsCircumstellar disksDebris disksJames Webb Space Telescope |
| spellingShingle | John H. Debes Sabrina Poulsen Ashley Messier Susan E. Mullally Katherine Thibault Loïc Albert Misty Cracraft Érika Le Bourdais Patrick Dufour Tom Barclay J. J. Hermes Mukremin Kilic David Lafrenière Fergal Mullally William Reach Elisa Quintana Metal-polluted White Dwarfs with 21 μm IR Excesses from JWST/MIRI: Planets or Dust? The Astronomical Journal White dwarf stars Exoplanets Circumstellar disks Debris disks James Webb Space Telescope |
| title | Metal-polluted White Dwarfs with 21 μm IR Excesses from JWST/MIRI: Planets or Dust? |
| title_full | Metal-polluted White Dwarfs with 21 μm IR Excesses from JWST/MIRI: Planets or Dust? |
| title_fullStr | Metal-polluted White Dwarfs with 21 μm IR Excesses from JWST/MIRI: Planets or Dust? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Metal-polluted White Dwarfs with 21 μm IR Excesses from JWST/MIRI: Planets or Dust? |
| title_short | Metal-polluted White Dwarfs with 21 μm IR Excesses from JWST/MIRI: Planets or Dust? |
| title_sort | metal polluted white dwarfs with 21 μm ir excesses from jwst miri planets or dust |
| topic | White dwarf stars Exoplanets Circumstellar disks Debris disks James Webb Space Telescope |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/ade68c |
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