Formation of eccentric gas discs from sublimating or partially disrupted asteroids orbiting white dwarfs

TL;DR

This paper proposes that sublimating or partially disrupting asteroids on eccentric orbits around white dwarfs can form and sustain eccentric gas discs, explaining observed features that circular models cannot account for.

Contribution

It introduces a novel mechanism for the formation of eccentric gas discs around white dwarfs using smoothed particle hydrodynamics simulations, linking asteroid disruption to observed disc eccentricities.

Findings

Eccentric gas discs can be formed and maintained by sublimating or disrupting asteroids.

The observed eccentricity of SDSS J1228+1040's gas disc is consistent with this hypothesis.

Simulations show gas disc eccentricity remains close to that of the parent body.

Abstract

Of the 21 known gaseous debris discs around white dwarfs, a large fraction of them display observational features that are well described by an eccentric distribution of gas. In the absence of embedded objects or additional forces, these discs should not remain eccentric for long timescales, and should instead circularise due to viscous spreading. The metal pollution and infrared excess we observe from these stars is consistent with the presence of tidally disrupted sub-stellar bodies. We demonstrate, using smoothed particle hydrodynamics, that a sublimating or partially disrupting planet on an eccentric orbit around a white dwarf will form and maintain a gas disc with an eccentricity within 0.1 of, and lower than, that of the orbiting body. We also demonstrate that the eccentric gas disc observed around the white dwarf SDSS J1228+1040 can be explained by the same hypothesis.