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The Chemical Composition of an Extrasolar Kuiper-Belt-Object
The Chemical Composition of an Extrasolar Kuiper-Belt-Object
- Source :
- Xu, S; Zuckerman, B; Dufour, P; Young, ED; Klein, B; & Jura, M. (2017). The Chemical Composition of an Extrasolar Kuiper-Belt-Object. ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL LETTERS, 836(1). doi: 10.3847/2041-8213/836/1/L7. UCLA: Retrieved from: http://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/064386j9, The Astrophysical Journal, vol 836, iss 1, ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL LETTERS, vol 836, iss 1
- Publication Year :
- 2017
- Publisher :
- eScholarship, University of California, 2017.
-
Abstract
- The Kuiper Belt of our solar system is a source of short-period comets that may have delivered water and other volatiles to Earth and the other terrestrial planets. However, the distribution of water and other volatiles in extrasolar planetary systems is largely unknown. We report the discovery of an accretion of a Kuiper-Belt-Object analog onto the atmosphere of the white dwarf WD 1425+540. The heavy elements C, N, O, Mg, Si, S, Ca, Fe, and Ni are detected, with nitrogen observed for the first time in extrasolar planetary debris. The nitrogen mass fraction is $\sim$ 2\%, comparable to that in comet Halley and higher than in any other known solar system object. The lower limit to the accreted mass is $\sim$ 10$^{22}$ g, which is about one hundred thousand times the typical mass of a short-period comet. In addition, WD 1425+540 has a wide binary companion, which could facilitate perturbing a Kuiper-Belt-Object analog into the white dwarf's tidal radius. This finding shows that analogs to objects in our Kuiper Belt exist around other stars and could be responsible for the delivery of volatiles to terrestrial planets beyond
- Subjects :
- Solar System
Comet
FOS: Physical sciences
Astrophysics
Astronomy & Astrophysics
01 natural sciences
Atmosphere
0103 physical sciences
Astrophysics::Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
010303 astronomy & astrophysics
planetary systems
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics (astro-ph.SR)
white dwarfs
Physics
Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP)
010308 nuclear & particles physics
White dwarf
Astronomy and Astrophysics
general [Kuiper belt]
Planetary system
Accretion (astrophysics)
abundances [stars]
Stars
Astrophysics - Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
Space and Planetary Science
Physics::Space Physics
Terrestrial planet
Astrophysics::Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Astronomical and Space Sciences
Astrophysics - Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Xu, S; Zuckerman, B; Dufour, P; Young, ED; Klein, B; & Jura, M. (2017). The Chemical Composition of an Extrasolar Kuiper-Belt-Object. ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL LETTERS, 836(1). doi: 10.3847/2041-8213/836/1/L7. UCLA: Retrieved from: http://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/064386j9, The Astrophysical Journal, vol 836, iss 1, ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL LETTERS, vol 836, iss 1
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....9529da71d579aa0167251be23eb7fb8f
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/836/1/L7.