Signposts of Planetary Systems around Evolved Stars: A New Perspective on Extrasolar Planets

这是一个研究围绕白矮星运行的小行星带和碎片盘的奖项，目的是为了更好地了解行星系统的一般性质。白矮星是在低质量恒星生命结束时产生的密度非常高的恒星残骸，主要由电子简并物质组成。任何围绕白矮星运行的碎片盘或行星系统都被认为是从围绕前身恒星形成的早期盘中幸存下来的。现有的理论理解将应用于这些新的独特情况，以了解更多关于演化的中等质量恒星周围的行星系统的属性。PI和他的团队将对碎片盘内小行星天体的碎裂和破坏进行建模，并将得出预测的观测特征，这些特征可以与现有对白矮星碎片盘的观测进行比较。PI将培训和指导一名研究生进行研究，让本科生参与研究，并为普通公众制作电影，说明白矮星周围的行星物理。将开发围绕白矮星的气体和固体碎片盘演化的全球随时间变化的模型，并与观测结果进行比较。该团队还将探索金属气体圆盘偏心扭曲的来源，以及金属气体凝聚到固体颗粒上的原因。他们还将探索电磁效应对圆盘演化的可能作用。

This is an award to study asteroid belts and debris disks orbiting white dwarfs in order to better understand the general nature of planetary systems. White dwarfs are very dense stellar remnants produced at the end of a low-mass star's life, and composed mainly of electron-degenerate matter. Any debris disk or planetary system orbiting a white dwarf is thought to have survived from an earlier disk that formed around the progenitor star. Existing theoretical understanding will be applied to these new unique circumstances to learn more about the properties of planetary systems around evolved intermediate-mass stars. The PI and his team will model the fragmentation and destruction of asteroid bodies within the debris disks, and will derive predicted observational signatures that can be compared to existing observations of white dwarf debris disks. The PI will train and mentor a graduate student in research, involve undergraduate students in research, and develop movies for the general public illustrating the physics of planets around white dwarfs.Global time-dependent models for the evolution of both gaseous and solid debris disks around white dwarfs will be developed and compared with observations. The team will also explore the origin of eccentric distortions in the disks of metallic gas, and the condensation of metallic gas onto the solid particles. They will also explore possible role of electromagnetic effects on the disk evolution.