Extreme abundance ratios in the polluted atmosphere of the cool white dwarf NLTT 19868

We present an analysis of intermediate-dispersion spectra and photometric data of the newly identified cool, polluted white dwarf NLTT 19868. The spectra obtained with X-shooter on the Very Large Telescope-Melipal show strong lines of calcium, and several lines of magnesium, aluminium and iron. We u...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Kawka, Adela, Vennes, S.
Format: Journal Article
Published: Oxford University Press 2016
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/71932
_version_ 1848762613380415488
author Kawka, Adela
Vennes, S.
author_facet Kawka, Adela
Vennes, S.
author_sort Kawka, Adela
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description We present an analysis of intermediate-dispersion spectra and photometric data of the newly identified cool, polluted white dwarf NLTT 19868. The spectra obtained with X-shooter on the Very Large Telescope-Melipal show strong lines of calcium, and several lines of magnesium, aluminium and iron. We use these spectra and the optical-to-near-infrared spectral energy distribution to constrain the atmospheric parameters of NLTT 19868. Our analysis shows that NLTT 19868 is iron poor with respect to aluminium and calcium. A comparison with other cool, polluted white dwarfs shows that the Fe to Ca abundance ratio (Fe/Ca) varies by up to approximately two orders of magnitudes over a narrow temperature range with NLTT 19868 at one extremum in the Fe/Ca ratio and, in contrast, NLTT 888 at the other extremum. The sample shows evidence of extreme diversity in the composition of the accreted material: in the case of NLTT 888, the inferred composition of the accreted matter is akin to iron-rich planetary core composition, while in the case of NLTT 19868 it is close to mantle composition depleted by subsequent chemical separation at the bottom of the convection zone.
first_indexed 2025-11-14T10:50:21Z
format Journal Article
id curtin-20.500.11937-71932
institution Curtin University Malaysia
institution_category Local University
last_indexed 2025-11-14T10:50:21Z
publishDate 2016
publisher Oxford University Press
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling curtin-20.500.11937-719322019-02-11T03:47:56Z Extreme abundance ratios in the polluted atmosphere of the cool white dwarf NLTT 19868 Kawka, Adela Vennes, S. We present an analysis of intermediate-dispersion spectra and photometric data of the newly identified cool, polluted white dwarf NLTT 19868. The spectra obtained with X-shooter on the Very Large Telescope-Melipal show strong lines of calcium, and several lines of magnesium, aluminium and iron. We use these spectra and the optical-to-near-infrared spectral energy distribution to constrain the atmospheric parameters of NLTT 19868. Our analysis shows that NLTT 19868 is iron poor with respect to aluminium and calcium. A comparison with other cool, polluted white dwarfs shows that the Fe to Ca abundance ratio (Fe/Ca) varies by up to approximately two orders of magnitudes over a narrow temperature range with NLTT 19868 at one extremum in the Fe/Ca ratio and, in contrast, NLTT 888 at the other extremum. The sample shows evidence of extreme diversity in the composition of the accreted material: in the case of NLTT 888, the inferred composition of the accreted matter is akin to iron-rich planetary core composition, while in the case of NLTT 19868 it is close to mantle composition depleted by subsequent chemical separation at the bottom of the convection zone. 2016 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/71932 10.1093/mnras/stw383 Oxford University Press fulltext
spellingShingle Kawka, Adela
Vennes, S.
Extreme abundance ratios in the polluted atmosphere of the cool white dwarf NLTT 19868
title Extreme abundance ratios in the polluted atmosphere of the cool white dwarf NLTT 19868
title_full Extreme abundance ratios in the polluted atmosphere of the cool white dwarf NLTT 19868
title_fullStr Extreme abundance ratios in the polluted atmosphere of the cool white dwarf NLTT 19868
title_full_unstemmed Extreme abundance ratios in the polluted atmosphere of the cool white dwarf NLTT 19868
title_short Extreme abundance ratios in the polluted atmosphere of the cool white dwarf NLTT 19868
title_sort extreme abundance ratios in the polluted atmosphere of the cool white dwarf nltt 19868
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/71932