Statistics
Scientific paper
May 2011
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2011sptz.prop80149f&link_type=abstract
Spitzer Proposal ID #80149
Statistics
Scientific paper
We propose to observe, in an unbiased manner, a large sample of white dwarfs with post-main sequence ages between 20 and 120 Myr to search for evidence of rocky circumstellar debris. Our targets are identical to those selected for an approved HST Cycle 18 Snapshot program for ultraviolet spectroscopy with COS. These stars were chosen only for their brightness and to be within a narrow range of effective temperatures amenable to our science goals. The COS observations will measure the metal content of the stars while the Spitzer observations will search for the presence of warm, circumstellar dust. In this manner, for the first time, we will obtain an unbiased picture of planetary debris in the post-main sequence -- in frequency of occurence per star, in its chemical composition via the atmospheric metal pollution, and in its accretion-production rate -- all as a function of cooling age and main-sequence progenitor mass. It will be the first and only unbiased search for both atmospheric metals and circumstellar dust at a complete sample of white dwarfs with well defined post-main sequence ages and reliable mass determinations. As such, we will be able to overcome existing limitations in the field, determine clean statistics for the first time, and distinguish the influences of cooling age and atmospheric metal content on the observed disk frequency.
Farihi Jay
Gaensicke Boris
Girven Jonathan
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