Pre-MAP Search for Transiting Objects Orbiting White Dwarfs
Aislynn Wallach, Brett M. Morris, Doug Branton, Teagan O'Reilly,, Brittany Platt, Ada Beale, Andrew Yetter, Katie Reil, Kristen Garofali, Eric, Agol

TL;DR
This study used small telescope photometry to search for transiting planetary objects around metal-polluted white dwarfs, aiming to detect small rocky bodies, but found no such transits in the observed targets.
Contribution
First targeted photometric survey of bright, metal-polluted white dwarfs using small telescopes to search for transiting planetary material.
Findings
No transiting planets detected in the observed sample.
Photometry capable of detecting Moon-sized objects or larger.
Identified potential targets for future space-based surveys.
Abstract
Metal pollution in white dwarf atmospheres may be the accreted remnants of planetary objects. After the discovery of disintegrating planetary objects transiting WD 1145+017 (Vanderburg et al. 2015), undergraduates in the University of Washington's Pre- Major in Astronomy Program (Pre-MAP) were inspired to collect photometry of the brightest white dwarfs to hunt for similar transiting objects around other metal-polluted white dwarfs. Prior surveys have yet to make a detection of a transiting planet orbiting a white dwarf, yet white dwarfs are still an attractive target for searches of small, rocky planetary material. Since a typical white dwarf is Earth-sized, transits of Earth-sized planets could have depths >50%, so even low S/N photometry has a chance at discovering transiting material. We identified bright, northern, metal-polluted white dwarfs in the SDSS DR10 white dwarf catalog,…
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