Abstract
We report the detection of a large-amplitude MIR outburst in the white dwarf (WD) 0145+234 in the NEOWISE Survey data. The source had a stable MIR flux before 2018, and was brightened by about 1.0 magnitude in the W1 and W2 bands within half a year and has been continuously brightening since then. No significant variations are found in the optical photometry data during the same period. This suggests that this MIR outburst is caused by recent replenishing or redistribution of dust, rather than intrinsic variations of the WD. Spectral energy distribution modeling of 0145+234 suggests that there was already a dust disk around the WD in the quiescent state, and both of the temperature and surface area of the disk evolved rapidly since the outburst. The dust temperature was ≃1770 K in the initial rising phase, close to the sublimation temperature of silicate grains, and gradually cooled down to around 1150 K, while the surface area increased by a factor of about six during the same period. The inferred closest distance of dust to the WD is within the tidal disruption radius of a gravitationally bounded asteroid. We estimated the dust mass to be between 3 1015 and 3 1017 ρ/(1 g cm-3) kg for silicate grains of a power-law size distribution with a high cutoff size from 0.1 to 1000 μm. We interpret this as a possible tidal breakup of an exoasteroid by the WD. Further follow-up observations of this rare event may provide insights on the origin of dust disk and metal pollution in some WDs.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Article number | L5 |
| Journal | Astrophysical Journal Letters |
| Volume | 886 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Nov 20 2019 |
| Externally published | Yes |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Astronomy and Astrophysics
- Space and Planetary Science
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An Ongoing Mid-infrared Outburst in the White Dwarf 0145+234 : Catching in Action the Tidal Disruption of an Exoasteroid? / Wang, Ting Gui; Jiang, Ning; Ge, Jian; Cutri, Roc M.; Jiang, Peng; Sheng, Zhengfeng; Zhou, Hongyan; Bauer, James; Mainzer, Amy; Wright, Edward L.
In: Astrophysical Journal Letters, Vol. 886, No. 1, L5, 20.11.2019.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - An Ongoing Mid-infrared Outburst in the White Dwarf 0145+234
T2 - Catching in Action the Tidal Disruption of an Exoasteroid?
AU - Wang, Ting Gui
AU - Jiang, Ning
AU - Ge, Jian
AU - Cutri, Roc M.
AU - Jiang, Peng
AU - Sheng, Zhengfeng
AU - Zhou, Hongyan
AU - Bauer, James
AU - Mainzer, Amy
AU - Wright, Edward L.
N1 - Funding Information: Ting-gui Wang Ning Jiang Jian Ge Roc M. Cutri Peng Jiang Zhengfeng Sheng Hongyan Zhou James Bauer Amy Mainzer Edward L. Wright Ting-gui Wang Ning Jiang Jian Ge Roc M. Cutri Peng Jiang Zhengfeng Sheng Hongyan Zhou James Bauer Amy Mainzer Edward L. Wright CAS Key Laboratory for Researches in Galaxies and Cosmology, University of Sciences and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026, People's Republic of China School of Astronomy and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, People's Republic of China 211 Bryant Space Science Center, Department of Astronomy, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611-2055, USA IPAC/Caltech, 1200 E. California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA Antarctic Astronomy Research Division, Key Laboratory for Polar Science of the State Oceanic Administration, Polar Research Institute of China, Shanghai, People's Republic of China Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA University of Arizona, 1629 E. University Boulevard, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA Division of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA Ting-gui Wang, Ning Jiang, Jian Ge, Roc M. Cutri, Peng Jiang, Zhengfeng Sheng, Hongyan Zhou, James Bauer, Amy Mainzer and Edward L. Wright 2019-11-20 2019-11-14 18:01:12 cgi/release: Article released bin/incoming: New from .zip national natural science foundation of china 11833007 and 11421303 yes We report the detection of a large-amplitude MIR outburst in the white dwarf (WD) 0145+234 in the NEOWISE Survey data. The source had a stable MIR flux before 2018, and was brightened by about 1.0 magnitude in the W1 and W2 bands within half a year and has been continuously brightening since then. No significant variations are found in the optical photometry data during the same period. This suggests that this MIR outburst is caused by recent replenishing or redistribution of dust, rather than intrinsic variations of the WD. Spectral energy distribution modeling of 0145+234 suggests that there was already a dust disk around the WD in the quiescent state, and both of the temperature and surface area of the disk evolved rapidly since the outburst. The dust temperature was ≃1770 K in the initial rising phase, close to the sublimation temperature of silicate grains, and gradually cooled down to around 1150 K, while the surface area increased by a factor of about six during the same period. The inferred closest distance of dust to the WD is within the tidal disruption radius of a gravitationally bounded asteroid. We estimated the dust mass to be between 3�נ10 15 and 3�נ10 17 ρ /(1 g cm −3 ) kg for silicate grains of a power-law size distribution with a high cutoff size from 0.1 to 1000 μ m. We interpret this as a possible tidal breakup of an exoasteroid by the WD. Further follow-up observations of this rare event may provide insights on the origin of dust disk and metal pollution in some WDs. � 2019. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. Alexander K. D., Berger E., Guillochon J., Zauderer B. A. and Williams P. K. G. 2016 ApJL 819 L25 10.3847/2041-8205/819/2/L25 Alexander K. D., Berger E., Guillochon J., Zauderer B. A. and Williams P. K. G. ApJL 0004-637X 819 2016 L25 Backman D. E. and Paresce F. 1993 Protostars and Planets III ed E. H. Levy and J. I. Lunine (Tucson, AZ: Univ. Arizona Press) 1253 Backman D. E. and Paresce F. ed Levy E. H. and Lunine J. 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PY - 2019/11/20
Y1 - 2019/11/20
N2 - We report the detection of a large-amplitude MIR outburst in the white dwarf (WD) 0145+234 in the NEOWISE Survey data. The source had a stable MIR flux before 2018, and was brightened by about 1.0 magnitude in the W1 and W2 bands within half a year and has been continuously brightening since then. No significant variations are found in the optical photometry data during the same period. This suggests that this MIR outburst is caused by recent replenishing or redistribution of dust, rather than intrinsic variations of the WD. Spectral energy distribution modeling of 0145+234 suggests that there was already a dust disk around the WD in the quiescent state, and both of the temperature and surface area of the disk evolved rapidly since the outburst. The dust temperature was ≃1770 K in the initial rising phase, close to the sublimation temperature of silicate grains, and gradually cooled down to around 1150 K, while the surface area increased by a factor of about six during the same period. The inferred closest distance of dust to the WD is within the tidal disruption radius of a gravitationally bounded asteroid. We estimated the dust mass to be between 3 1015 and 3 1017 ρ/(1 g cm-3) kg for silicate grains of a power-law size distribution with a high cutoff size from 0.1 to 1000 μm. We interpret this as a possible tidal breakup of an exoasteroid by the WD. Further follow-up observations of this rare event may provide insights on the origin of dust disk and metal pollution in some WDs.
AB - We report the detection of a large-amplitude MIR outburst in the white dwarf (WD) 0145+234 in the NEOWISE Survey data. The source had a stable MIR flux before 2018, and was brightened by about 1.0 magnitude in the W1 and W2 bands within half a year and has been continuously brightening since then. No significant variations are found in the optical photometry data during the same period. This suggests that this MIR outburst is caused by recent replenishing or redistribution of dust, rather than intrinsic variations of the WD. Spectral energy distribution modeling of 0145+234 suggests that there was already a dust disk around the WD in the quiescent state, and both of the temperature and surface area of the disk evolved rapidly since the outburst. The dust temperature was ≃1770 K in the initial rising phase, close to the sublimation temperature of silicate grains, and gradually cooled down to around 1150 K, while the surface area increased by a factor of about six during the same period. The inferred closest distance of dust to the WD is within the tidal disruption radius of a gravitationally bounded asteroid. We estimated the dust mass to be between 3 1015 and 3 1017 ρ/(1 g cm-3) kg for silicate grains of a power-law size distribution with a high cutoff size from 0.1 to 1000 μm. We interpret this as a possible tidal breakup of an exoasteroid by the WD. Further follow-up observations of this rare event may provide insights on the origin of dust disk and metal pollution in some WDs.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85077870187&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85077870187&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3847/2041-8213/ab53ed
DO - 10.3847/2041-8213/ab53ed
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85077870187
VL - 886
JO - Astrophysical Journal Letters
JF - Astrophysical Journal Letters
SN - 2041-8205
IS - 1
M1 - L5
ER -