Dusty Exoplanetary Debris Disks in the Single-Temperature Blackbody Plane

TL;DR

This paper analyzes dusty debris disks around white dwarfs using a single-temperature blackbody model, revealing a boundary where gaseous debris systems cluster, aiding future detection strategies.

Contribution

It introduces the single-temperature blackbody plane as a tool to study debris disks and gaseous emission in white dwarf systems, offering a new selection technique.

Findings

Gaseous debris systems cluster along the high temperature boundary.

The single-temperature blackbody plane effectively distinguishes systems with gaseous emission.

Proposes this plane as a target selection method for future observations.

Abstract

We present a bulk sample analysis of the metal polluted white dwarfs which also host infrared bright dusty debris disks, known to be direct signatures of an active exoplanetary accretion source. We explore the relative positions of these systems in a single-temperature blackbody plane, defined as the temperature and radius of a single-temperature blackbody as fitted to the infrared excess. We find that the handful of dust systems which also host gaseous debris in emission congregate along the high temperature boundary of the dust disk region in the single-temperature blackbody plane. We discuss interpretations of this boundary and propose the single-temperature blackbody plane selection technique for use in future targeted searches of gaseous emission.