Probing Exoplanets Around Massive Stars
In November 2024, a manuscript led by graduate student and BUWD member Lou Baya Ould Rouis (Ould Rouis, Hermes, Gaensicke et al. 2024) was accepting which showed that the most massive white dwarfs (>0.8 solar masses) show metal pollution significantly less frequently than more normal-mass white dwarfs. Specifically, just 11% of white dwarfs that begin their lives as stars >3.5 solar masses on the main sequence show metals from remnant planetary systems, while 44% of white dwarfs that begin their lives as stars <2 solar masses show metals. We have also shown that mergers are unlikely to be the main explanation for this discrepancy. The findings likely have implications for planet formation and/or survival around massive stars on the main sequence which are hard to search for exoplanets using traditional techniques. The manuscript has been accepted in The Astrophysical Journal.