New research suggests that white dwarfs, once thought to be barren and inhospitable, may actually be able to support life-bearing planets. The study challenges long-held assumptions about the habitability of these stellar remnants.
White dwarfs, the dense remnants of stars like our Sun, have long been considered inhospitable to life. They are so small that their habitable zones would be incredibly narrow, ranging from 0.0005 to 0.02 AU from the star. Any planets within these zones would be tidally locked, with one side experiencing a runaway greenhouse effect and the other locked in perpetual ice. Additionally, the existence of planets orbiting white dwarfs is still uncertain, with their population largely unknown.
However, new research published in The Astrophysical Journal challenges these assumptions. Led by Aomawa Shields, associate professor of physics and astronomy at UC Irvine, the study suggests that white dwarfs could actually harbor life-supporting planets. The research focuses on the potential for rocky planets to exist in the habitable zones of white dwarfs, a possibility brought into focus by the capabilities of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).To investigate this further, the team created computer simulations of two Earth-like aqua planets (ocean worlds) orbiting different stars: one orbiting a main sequence star named Kepler-62 and the other orbiting a hypothetical white dwarf. Both planets were tidally locked, followed circular orbits, and had Earth’s mass, atmospheric composition, and surface pressure. The simulations used synthetic spectra based on what is known about both stars. The results showed that despite both stars having similar effective temperatures, the planets' climates differed significantly. The planet orbiting the white dwarf, due to its proximity and faster rotation, had a higher surface temperature and a much faster rotation period. This rapid rotation prevented the buildup of thick water vapor clouds on its dayside, which would otherwise have cooled the planet and reduced habitable surface area. In contrast, the planet orbiting Kepler-62 accumulated large masses of water vapor clouds, leading to a significant reduction in habitable surface area. The study suggests that the faster rotation of the WD planet, coupled with its proximity to the star, creates a more stable climate conducive to life
White Dwarfs Exoplanets Habitability James Webb Space Telescope Climate Modeling Astrobiology
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