Research Division Seminar
IAU G5 seminar: " How White Dwarfs Get Their Metals"

Dr. Scott Kenyon

Many (perhaps most) nearby white dwarfs have strong

absorption lines from Ca, Si, Mg, Al, and other metals

on optical and ultraviolet spectra. Abundance analyses

suggest the ensemble of metals has a composition similar

to asteroids or the cores of rocky planets. The atmospheric

diffusion times are much smaller than their ages. Thus, the

metals must be continually replenished. I will describe

observations of these systems and outline an evolutionary

path that allows material from an erstwhile planetary system

to end up on the surface of the white dwarf remnant of an

A-type main sequence star.

Sobre la charla

IAU G5 seminar: " How White Dwarfs Get Their Metals"

Dr. Scott Kenyon
CfA / Harvard & Smithsonian

Tuesday March 21, 2023 - 17:00 GMT (Online)