paper

A double debris disc around a white dwarf sculpted by two planetary bodies

arXiv:2610.37773 · doi:10.1038/s41550-026-03004-3

Abstract

Many planetary systems survive the metamorphosis of their hosts stars into white dwarfs, as demonstrated by the detection of dusty circumstellar discs around these stellar remnants as well as chemical signatures of planetary debris in atmospheres of these stars. A small fraction of these circumstellar discs also contain gas, detected in the form of emission lines from various ionic transitions (most commonly the near-infrared Ca ii triplet). All of the 21 known gas discs exhibit double-peaked line profile characteristic of a rotating flat disc. The mechanism behind the the generation of gas is still debated, but for at least one system it has been linked with the presence of a surviving planetesimal embedded within the dust disc. Here we report the discovery of WD J132800.85-145019.95, a new gas disc system which exhibits quadruple-peaked instead of double-peaked line profiles. These emission lines originate from two separate gaseous rings extending from 0.14 Rsun to 0.34 Rsun and from 0.54 Rsun to 1.93 Rsun. We propose that this structure results from the presence of two distinct planetary bodies within these discs, ranging in size from a few km to the size of Pluto. The detection this stable double-disc presents a new challenge for the current models of debris disc formation and evolution.

arXiv comment42 pages, 9 figures, 5 tables, accepted for publication in Nature Astronomy

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