Search for giant planets around seven white dwarfs in the Hyades cluster with the Hubble Space Telescope

TL;DR

This study used Hubble Space Telescope imaging to search for giant planets around seven white dwarfs in the Hyades cluster, setting new detection limits but finding no planetary companions, thus informing planet formation theories in dense stellar environments.

Contribution

First high-resolution imaging survey targeting white dwarfs in a stellar cluster to constrain giant planet occurrence and formation around massive stars.

Findings

No planetary mass companions detected around the seven white dwarfs.

Detection limits of 5-12 Jupiter masses depending on the model and separation.

Supports the idea that dense cluster environments may inhibit giant planet formation.

Abstract

Only a small number of exoplanets has been identified in stellar cluster environments. We initiated a high angular resolution direct imaging search using the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and its NICMOS instrument for self-luminous giant planets in orbit around seven white dwarfs in the 625 Myr old nearby (45 pc) Hyades cluster. The observations were obtained with NIC1 in the F110W and F160W filters, and encompass two HST roll angles to facilitate angular differential imaging. The difference images were searched for companion candidates, and radially averaged contrast curves were computed. Though we achieve the lowest mass detection limits yet for angular separations >0.5 arcsec, no planetary mass companion to any of the seven white dwarfs, whose initial main sequence masses were >2.8 Msun, was found. Comparison with evolutionary models yields detection limits of 5 to 7 Jupiter masses according to one model, and between 9 and 12 Mjup according to another model, at physical separations corresponding to initial semimajor axis of >5 to 8 A.U. (i.e., before the mass loss events associated with the red and asymptotic giant branch phase of the host star). The study provides further evidence that initially dense cluster environments, which included O- and B-type stars, might not be highly conducive to the formation of massive circumstellar disks, and their transformation into giant planets (with m>6 Mjup and a>6 A.U.). This is in agreement with radial velocity surveys for exoplanets around G- and K-type giants, which did not find any planets around stars more massive than about 3 Msun.