Transient outburst events from tidally disrupted asteroids near white dwarfs

Abstract We discuss the possibility of observing the transient formation event of an accretion disk from the tidal destruction process of an asteroid near a white dwarf (WD). This scenario is commonly proposed as the explanation for dusty disks around WDs. We find that the initial formation phase lasts for about a month and material that ends in a close orbit near the WD forms a gaseous disk rather than a dusty disk. The mass and size of this gaseous accretion disk is very similar to that of Dwarf Novae (DNe) in quiescence. The bolometric luminosity of the event at maximum is estimated to be ∼ 0.001 – 0.1 L ⊙ . Based on the similarity with DNe we expect that transient outburst events such as discussed here will be observed at wavelengths ranging from visible to the X-ray, and be detected by present and future surveys.

[1]  D. Koester,et al.  The accretion-diffusion scenario for metals in cool white dwarfs , 2006 .

[2]  Israel,et al.  Multiband light curves of tidal disruption events , 2010, 1008.4589.

[3]  Dirk Pandel,et al.  X‐ray and ultraviolet observations of the dwarf nova VW Hyi in quiescence , 2003, astro-ph/0309418.

[4]  J.-M. Hameury,et al.  The disc instability model for X-ray transients: Evidence for truncation and irradiation , 2001, astro-ph/0102237.

[5]  M. Jura,et al.  Carbon Deficiency in Externally Polluted White Dwarfs: Evidence for Accretion of Asteroids , 2006, astro-ph/0609045.

[6]  A. Harris.  Effects of shape and spin on the tidal disruption of P/Shoemaker-Levy 9 , 1994 .

[7]  Ben Zuckerman,et al.  Metal Lines in DA White Dwarfs , 2003 .

[8]  C. Stark,et al.  THE LINK BETWEEN PLANETARY SYSTEMS, DUSTY WHITE DWARFS, AND METAL-POLLUTED WHITE DWARFS , 2012, 1201.0756.

[9]  T. Marsh,et al.  A Gaseous Metal Disk Around a White Dwarf , 2006, Science.

[10]  Martin Connors,et al.  Evidence for a Color Dependence in the Size Distribution of Main-Belt Asteroids , 2007 .

[11]  Marc J. Kuchner,et al.  The Dust Cloud around the White Dwarf G29-38 , 2005, astro-ph/0511358.

[12]  Inseok Song,et al.  A Dusty Disk around GD 362, a White Dwarf with a Uniquely High Photospheric Metal Abundance , 2005 .

[13]  Noemi Giammichele,et al.  KNOW YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD: A DETAILED MODEL ATMOSPHERE ANALYSIS OF NEARBY WHITE DWARFS , 2012, 1202.5581.

[14]  UCLA,et al.  TWO EXTRASOLAR ASTEROIDS WITH LOW VOLATILE-ELEMENT MASS FRACTIONS , 2012, 1203.2885.

[15]  P. J. Huggins,et al.  A Debris Disk around the Central Star of the Helix Nebula? , 2007, astro-ph/0702296.

[16]  E. S. Phinney,et al.  MANIFESTATIONS OF A MASSIVE BLACK HOLE IN THE GALACTIC CENTER , 1989 .

[17]  P. Szkody,et al.  A Far Ultraviolet Archival Study of Cataclysmic Variables. I. FUSE and HST STIS Spectra of the Exposed White Dwarf in Dwarf Nova Systems , 2008, 0802.2022.

[18]  E. Salpeter,et al.  Radiation from comets near neutron stars , 1973 .

[19]  Effects of a black hole's gravitational field on the luminosity of a star during a close encounter , 2005, astro-ph/0502507.

[20]  James R. Graham,et al.  The infrared excess of G29-38: A brown dwarf or dust? , 1990 .

[21]  A. R. King,et al.  Scars of intense accretion episodes at metal-rich white dwarfs , 2012, 1205.0004.

[22]  UCSD,et al.  ECHOES OF A DECAYING PLANETARY SYSTEM: THE GASEOUS AND DUSTY DISKS SURROUNDING THREE WHITE DWARFS , 2010, 1007.2023.

[23]  E. Bergin,et al.  THE SOLAR NEBULA ON FIRE: A SOLUTION TO THE CARBON DEFICIT IN THE INNER SOLAR SYSTEM , 2010, 1001.0818.

[24]  Knox S. Long,et al.  Chandra Spectra of the Prototype Dwarf Nova U Geminorum at Quiescence , 2002 .

[25]  R. Speith,et al.  Accretion dynamics in neutron star black hole binaries , 2004, astro-ph/0403500.

[26]  G. Fontaine,et al.  THE DISCOVERY OF THE MOST METAL-RICH WHITE DWARF: COMPOSITION OF A TIDALLY DISRUPTED EXTRASOLAR DWARF PLANET , 2010, 1006.3710.

[27]  B. T. Gansicke,et al.  Cool DZ white dwarfs in the SDSS , 2011, 1105.0268.

[28]  P. J. Wheatley,et al.  The behaviour of quiescent accretion discs in dwarf novae , 2003 .

[29]  B. Davidsson,et al.  Tidal Splitting and Rotational Breakup of Solid Spheres , 1999 .

[30]  D. Fischer,et al.  Extreme Solar Systems , 2008 .

[31]  J. Lasota.  The disc instability model of dwarf novae and low-mass X-ray binary transients , 2001, astro-ph/0102072.

[32]  M. López-Morales,et al.  DETECTION OF WEAK CIRCUMSTELLAR GAS AROUND THE DAZ WHITE DWARF WD 1124-293: EVIDENCE FOR THE ACCRETION OF MULTIPLE ASTEROIDS , 2012, 1205.3503.

[33]  B. Gaensicke,et al.  CATACLYSMIC VARIABLE PRIMARY EFFECTIVE TEMPERATURES: CONSTRAINTS ON BINARY ANGULAR MOMENTUM LOSS , 2008, 0811.2447.

[34]  N. Soker,et al.  Galactic vs. extragalactic origin of the peculiar transient SCP 06F6 , 2008, 0812.1402.

[35]  J. Farihi,et al.  SIX WHITE DWARFS WITH CIRCUMSTELLAR SILICATES , 2008, 0811.1740.

[36]  J. E. Pringle,et al.  X-ray emission from dwarf novae. , 1979 .

[37]  D. Minniti,et al.  Faint Blue Objects on the Hubble Deep Field North and South as Possible Nearby Old Halo White Dwarfs , 2000 .

[38]  G. Fontaine,et al.  Detailed Spectroscopic and Photometric Analysis of DQ White Dwarfs , 2005, astro-ph/0503448.

[39]  Mukremin Kilic,et al.  A Dusty Disk around WD 1150–153: Explaining the Metals in White Dwarfs by Accretion from the Interstellar Medium versus Debris Disks , 2007 .

[40]  John H. Debes,et al.  Are There Unstable Planetary Systems around White Dwarfs , 2002 .

[41]  Mark R. Morris,et al.  The center of the galaxy , 1989 .

[42]  New DQ white dwarfs in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey DR4: confirmation of two sequences , 2006, astro-ph/0603734.

[43]  M. Livio,et al.  Tidal Disruption of a Solar-Type Star by a Supermassive Black Hole , 2000, astro-ph/0002499.

[44]  Brian D. Metzger,et al.  Radio transients from stellar tidal disruption by massive black holes , 2011, 1102.1429.

[45]  A. Levan,et al.  SCP 06F6: A CARBON-RICH EXTRAGALACTIC TRANSIENT AT REDSHIFT z ≃ 0.14? , 2008, 0809.2562.

[46]  M. Jura,et al.  POLLUTION OF SINGLE WHITE DWARFS BY ACCRETION OF MANY SMALL ASTEROIDS , 2008, 0802.4075.

[47]  J. Farihi,et al.  X-RAY AND INFRARED OBSERVATIONS OF TWO EXTERNALLY POLLUTED WHITE DWARFS , 2009 .

[48]  J. Southworth,et al.  SDSS J104341.53+085558.2: a second white dwarf with a gaseous debris disc , 2007, 0705.0447.

[49]  Marc J. Kuchner,et al.  The New Class of Dusty DAZ White Dwarfs , 2007, astro-ph/0703473.

[50]  B. Zuckerman,et al.  Excess infrared radiation from a white dwarf—an orbiting brown dwarf? , 1987, Nature.

[51]  Boris Gaensicke,et al.  A SPITZER SPACE TELESCOPE STUDY OF THE DEBRIS DISKS AROUND FOUR SDSS WHITE DWARFS , 2012, 1202.6411.

[52]  A. Burrows,et al.  Tides and tidal engulfment in post-main-sequence binaries: period gaps for planets and brown dwarfs around white dwarfs , 2010, 1002.2216.

[53]  Ted von Hippel,et al.  THE DUST CLOUD AROUND THE WHITE DWARF G 29-38. II. SPECTRUM FROM 5 TO 40 μm AND MID-INFRARED PHOTOMETRIC VARIABILITY , 2008, 0810.3276.

[54]  Mukremin Kilic,et al.  Debris Disks around White Dwarfs: The DAZ Connection , 2006, astro-ph/0603774.

[55]  K. Mason,et al.  X-Ray Observations of the Boundary Layer in Dwarf Novae at Low Accretion Rates , 2005, astro-ph/0503114.

[56]  E. Sion,et al.  A Determination of the Local Density of White Dwarf Stars , 2001, astro-ph/0102120.

[57]  J. Farihi,et al.  Externally Polluted White Dwarfs with Dust Disks , 2007, 0704.1170.

[58]  T. R. Marsh,et al.  POSSIBLE SIGNS OF WATER AND DIFFERENTIATION IN A ROCKY EXOPLANETARY BODY , 2010, 1101.0158.

[59]  E. L. Wright,et al.  NEOWISE STUDIES OF SPECTROPHOTOMETRICALLY CLASSIFIED ASTEROIDS: PRELIMINARY RESULTS , 2011, 1109.6407.

[60]  T. Alexander,et al.  Stellar Processes Near the Massive Black Hole in the Galactic Center , 2005, astro-ph/0508106.

[61]  D. Leisawitz,et al.  THE WIRED SURVEY. II. INFRARED EXCESSES IN THE SDSS DR7 WHITE DWARF CATALOG , 2011, 1110.6162.

[62]  Sergei Nayakshin,et al.  Sgr A* flares: Tidal disruption of asteroids and planets? , 2011, 1110.6872.

[63]  D. Fugazza,et al.  The unusual gamma-ray burst GRB 101225A explained as a minor body falling onto a neutron star , 2011, Nature.

[64]  M. A. Barstow,et al.  Rocky planetesimals as the origin of metals in DZ stars , 2010, 1001.5025.

[65]  I. Belskaya,et al.  On the surface composition of the M-type asteroids , 1989 .

[66]  Amy Bonsor,et al.  Dynamical effects of stellar mass-loss on a Kuiper-like belt , 2011, 1102.3185.

[67]  D. Kasen,et al.  OPTICAL TRANSIENTS FROM THE UNBOUND DEBRIS OF TIDAL DISRUPTION , 2009, 0911.5358.

[68]  J. Farihi,et al.  STRENGTHENING THE CASE FOR ASTEROIDAL ACCRETION: EVIDENCE FOR SUBTLE AND DIVERSE DISKS AT WHITE DWARFS , 2010, 1003.2627.

[69]  Edward M. Sion,et al.  Abundances in the hot DZ star CBS 127 : how efficient is hydrogen screening? , 1990 .

[70]  Brian D. Metzger,et al.  Global models of runaway accretion in white dwarf debris discs , 2012, 1202.0557.

[71]  C. Tappert,et al.  A DUSTY COMPONENT TO THE GASEOUS DEBRIS DISK AROUND THE WHITE DWARF SDSS J1228+1040 , 2009, 0902.4044.

[72]  Carl Melis,et al.  AN ALUMINUM/CALCIUM-RICH, IRON-POOR, WHITE DWARF STAR: EVIDENCE FOR AN EXTRASOLAR PLANETARY LITHOSPHERE? , 2011, 1107.2167.

[73]  Kristen Menou,et al.  Hot Accretion onto White Dwarfs in Quiescent Dwarf Novae , 2001, astro-ph/0112197.

[74]  Andrew Ulmer,et al.  Flares from the Tidal Disruption of Stars by Massive Black Holes , 1999 .

[75]  J. Patterson,et al.  X-ray emission from cataclysmic variables with accretion disks. I - Hard X-rays. II - EUV/soft X-ray radiation , 1985 .

[76]  R. Rafikov.  Runaway accretion of metals from compact discs of debris on to white dwarfs , 2011, 1102.4343.

[77]  Mukremin Kilic,et al.  Excess Infrared Radiation from the Massive DAZ White Dwarf GD 362: A Debris Disk? , 2005, astro-ph/0509188.

[78]  D. Koester,et al.  Accretion and diffusion in white dwarfs - New diffusion timescales and applications to GD 362 and G 29-38 , 2009, 0903.1499.

[79]  P. Kowalski.  The origin of peculiar molecular bands in cool DQ white dwarfs , 2010, 1008.4542.

[80]  M. J. Newman,et al.  Collisions of asteroids on neutron stars as a cause of cosmic gamma ray bursts , 1980 .

[81]  T. Grav,et al.  NEOWISE STUDIES OF ASTEROIDS WITH SLOAN PHOTOMETRY: PRELIMINARY RESULTS , 2011, 1110.4998.

[82]  P. Szkody,et al.  XMM-NEWTON OBSERVATIONS OF THE DWARF NOVA RU Peg IN QUIESCENCE: PROBE OF THE BOUNDARY LAYER , 2011, 1108.2662.

[83]  S. Berdyugina,et al.  GJ 841B—THE SECOND DQ WHITE DWARF WITH POLARIZED CH MOLECULAR BANDS , 2010, 1008.3903.

[84]  J. Patterson.  Distances and absolute magnitudes of dwarf novae: murmurs of period bounce , 2009, 0903.1006.

[85]  University of Cambridge,et al.  Stellar disruption by a supermassive black hole: is the light curve really proportional to t -5/3 ? , 2008, 0810.1288.

[86]  M. Wyatt,et al.  The great escape: how exoplanets and smaller bodies desert dying stars , 2011, 1107.1239.

[87]  B. Zuckerman,et al.  INFRARED SIGNATURES OF DISRUPTED MINOR PLANETS AT WHITE DWARFS , 2009, 0901.0973.

[88]  J. Farihi,et al.  Infrared Emission from the Dusty Disk Orbiting GD 362, an Externally Polluted White Dwarf , 2007 .

[89]  Boris T. Gänsicke,et al.  DA white dwarfs in Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 7 and a search for infrared excess emission , 2011 .

[90]  Charles R. Evans,et al.  The tidal disruption of a star by a massive black hole , 1989 .

[91]  University of Leicester,et al.  ACCRETION OF A TERRESTRIAL-LIKE MINOR PLANET BY A WHITE DWARF , 2011, 1102.0311.

[92]  A. Gomboc,et al.  Tidal effects on small bodies by massive black holes , 2009, 0901.3447.

[93]  T. R. Marsh,et al.  CONSTRAINTS ON THE LIFETIMES OF DISKS RESULTING FROM TIDALLY DESTROYED ROCKY PLANETARY BODIES , 2012, 1202.3784.

[94]  M. Jura.  A Tidally Disrupted Asteroid around the White Dwarf G29-38 , 2003 .

[95]  M. R. Burleigh,et al.  A trio of metal-rich dust and gas discs found orbiting candidate white dwarfs with K-band excess , 2011, 1112.5163.

[96]  M. Jura,et al.  SPITZER OBSERVATIONS OF WHITE DWARFS: THE MISSING PLANETARY DEBRIS AROUND DZ STARS , 2011, 1109.4207.

[97]  J. Farihi.  Evidence for Terrestrial Planetary System Remnants at White Dwarfs , 2010, 1010.6067.

[98]  Marc J. Kuchner,et al.  A Spitzer White Dwarf Infrared Survey , 2006, astro-ph/0611588.

[99]  B. Zuckerman,et al.  Spitzer IRAC Observations of White Dwarfs. I. Warm Dust at Metal-Rich Degenerates , 2007, 0710.0907.

[100]  G. Fontaine,et al.  DETAILED COMPOSITIONAL ANALYSIS OF THE HEAVILY POLLUTED DBZ WHITE DWARF SDSS J073842.56+183509.06: A WINDOW ON PLANET FORMATION? , 2012, 1201.6252.