Recurring Planetary Debris Transits and Circumstellar Gas around White Dwarf ZTF J0328$-$1219

Abstract

We present follow-up photometry and spectroscopy of ZTF J0328$-$1219 strengthening its status as a white dwarf exhibiting transiting planetary debris. Using TESS and Zwicky Transient Facility photometry, along with follow-up high speed photometry from various observatories, we find evidence for two significant periods of variability at 9.937 and 11.2 hr. We interpret these as most likely the orbital periods of different debris clumps. Changes in the detailed dip structures within the light curves are observed on nightly, weekly, and monthly timescales, reminiscent of the dynamic behavior observed in the first white dwarf discovered to harbor a disintegrating asteroid, WD 1145+017. We fit previously published spectroscopy along with broadband photometry to obtain new atmospheric parameters for the white dwarf, with $M_{\star }=0.731\pm 0.023M_{\odot }$, $T_{\mathrm{eff}}=7630\pm 140$K, and $[Ca/He]=-9.55\pm 0.12$. With new high-resolution spectroscopy, we detect prominent and narrow Na D absorption features likely of circumstellar origin, with velocities $21.4\pm 1.0$ km s${}^{-1}$ blue-shifted relative to atmospheric lines. We attribute the periodically modulated photometric signal to dusty effluents from small orbiting bodies such as asteroids or comets, but are unable to identify the most likely material that is being sublimated, or otherwise ejected, as the environmental temperatures range from roughly 400K to 600K.

24 pages, 10 figures, 9 tables, accepted to ApJ

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