skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: A DUSTY COMPONENT TO THE GASEOUS DEBRIS DISK AROUND THE WHITE DWARF SDSS J1228+1040

Journal Article · · Astrophysical Journal
;  [1]; ;  [2];  [3]
  1. Spitzer Science Center, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States)
  2. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Warwick, Warwick CV4 7AL (United Kingdom)
  3. Dpto de AstronomIa y AstrofIsica, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, Casilla 306, Santiago 22 (Chile)

We present Infrared Spectrometer And Array Camera (ISAAC) spectroscopy and ISAAC, UKIDSS, and Spitzer Space Telescope broadband photometry of SDSS J1228+1040-a white dwarf for which evidence of a gaseous metal-rich circumstellar disk has previously been found from optical emission lines. The data show a clear excess in the near- and mid-infrared (IR), providing compelling evidence for the presence of dust in addition to the previously identified gaseous debris disk around the star. The IR excess can be modeled in terms of an optically thick but geometrically thin disk. We find that the inner disk temperatures must be relatively high ({approx}1700 K) in order to fit the spectral energy distribution in the near-IR. These data provide the first evidence for the coexistence of both gas and dust in a disk around a white dwarf, and show that their presence is possible even around moderately hot ({approx}22,000 K) stars.

OSTI ID:
21300614
Journal Information:
Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 696, Issue 2; Other Information: DOI: 10.1088/0004-637X/696/2/1402; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English