Origin of the dusty disks around white dwarfs

Abstract

AbstractSome circumstantial evidence for residual planetesimals is constructed based on the recent discovery of a dusty ring around a young white dwarf at the center of the Helix nebula (Suet al. 2007). This ring extends between about 35 and 150 AU from the nebula center, and have a total mass of about 0.13M⊕. In this paper we propose that this ring is the by-product of planets and planetesimals' orbital evolution during the epoch when the central star rapidly lost most of its mass. We examine the dynamical evolution of planetary systems similar to the solar system (i.e. with gas giant planets and residual planetesimals) as their host stars evolve off the main sequence. During the process, some planetesimals will be captured by the gas giants into mean motion resonances and their mutual collisions will form a dust ring similar to that observed at the center of the Helix nebula.