Transiting Extrasolar Planets - Detection of Extrasolar Asteroids and Debris Disks - Contamination of Stellar Atmospheres

Contamination of Stellar Atmospheres

Recent spectral analysis of white dwarfs' atmospheres by Spitzer Space Telescope found contamination of heavier elements like magnesium and calcium. These elements cannot originate from the stars' core and it is probable that the contamination comes from asteroids that got too close (within the Roche limit) to these stars by gravitational interaction with larger planets and were torn apart by star's tidal forces. Spitzer data suggests that 1-3% of the white dwarfs has similar contamination.