The Elemental Compositions of Extrasolar Planetesimals
arXiv:1301.5562 · doi:10.1017/S1743921313012878
Abstract
Evidence is now compelling that most externally-polluted white dwarfs derive their heavy atoms by accretion from asteroids - the building blocks of rocky planets. Optical and ultraviolet spectroscopy of a small sample of suitable white dwarf stars shows that to zeroth order, the accreted extrasolar parent bodies compositionally resemble bulk Earth. (1) Extrasolar planetesimals are at least 85% by mass composed of O, Mg, Si and Fe. (2) Compared to the Sun, C is often deficient, usually by at least a factor of 10 and therefore comprises less than 1% of an extrasolar planetesimal's mass. At least to-date, C has never been found to be enhanced as would be expected if carbon-rich planetesimals have formed. (3) While there may be individual exceptions, considered as a whole, the population of extrasolar asteroids accreted onto a well-defined sample of local white dwarf stars is less than 1% water by mass.
10 pages, 3 figures, review presented at IAU Symposium No. 293, Beijing, August 2012, Formation, Detection and Characterization of Extrasolar Habitable Planets
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