Fast and Slow Precession of Gaseous Debris Disks around Planet-accreting White Dwarfs
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Abstract
Spectroscopic observations of some metal-rich white dwarfs (WDs), believed to
be polluted by planetary material, reveal the presence of compact gaseous
metallic disks orbiting them. The observed variability of asymmetric,
double-peaked emission line profiles in about half of such systems could be
interpreted as the signature of precession of an eccentric gaseous debris disk.
The variability timescales --- from decades down to
- 0.4) R_\odot$, the modes are pressure-dominated, with periods of
yr. Correspondence between the variability periods and inferred inner radii of the observed disks is in general agreement with this trend. In particular, the short period of HE 1349--2305 is consistent with its small . Circum-WD debris disks may thus serve as natural laboratories for studying the evolution of eccentric gaseous disks.
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1538-4357
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Science and Technology Facilities Council (ST/L000636/1)