2015MNRAS.450.4233B -
Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc., 450, 4233-4239 (2015/July-2)
Planetary systems and real planetary nebulae from planet destruction near white dwarfs.
BEAR E. and SOKER N.
Abstract (from CDS):
We suggest that tidal destruction of Earth-like and icy planets near a white dwarf (WD) might lead to the formation of one or more low-mass - Earth-like and lighter - planets in tight orbits around the WD. The formation of the new WD planetary system starts with a tidal breakup of the parent planet to planetesimals near the tidal radius of about 1R☉. Internal stress forces keep the planetesimal from further tidal breakup when their radius is less than about 100km. We speculate that the planetesimals then bind together to form new sub-Earth daughter-planets at a few solar radii around the WD. More massive planets that contain hydrogen supply the WD with fresh nuclear fuel to reincarnate its stellar-giant phase. Some of the hydrogen will be inflated in a large envelope. The envelope blows a wind to form a nebula that is later (after the entire envelope is lost) ionized by the hot WD. We term this glowing ionized nebula that originated from a planet a real planetary nebula (RPN). This preliminary study of daughter-planets from a planet and the RPN scenarios are of speculative nature. More detailed studies must follow to establish whether the suggested scenarios can indeed take place.
Abstract Copyright:
© 2015 The Authors Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society (2015)
Journal keyword(s):
planetary systems - planets and satellites: formation
Simbad objects:
8
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