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SUMMARY:Polluted White Dwarfs: Insights into Ancient Exo-Planetary Systems
  - John Harrison (University of Cambridge)
DTSTART:20200609T150000Z
DTEND:20200609T160000Z
UID:TALK141898@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Dr Annelies Mortier
DESCRIPTION:As the study of rocky exo-planets enters an era of characteris
 ation\, the\nability to determine how similar a planet is to the Earth\, a
 nd thus if\nit is potentially habitable\, is fast approaching. An understa
 nding of\nthe geological processes which determine a rocky world's bulk\nc
 omposition\, geodynamics\, and subsequent climate is of vital importance\n
 to this pursuit. Over the course of my PhD I have used the pollution of\nw
 hite dwarf stars by rocky exo-planetary material to gain insights into\nth
 e bulk composition of rocky exo-planets\, and thus\, the geological\nproce
 sses which occur on them. I have created a model which reproduces\nthe atm
 ospheric metal abundances present in polluted white dwarf stars\nand gener
 ates constraints on the origin of the polluting material. Using\nthis mode
 l I can constrain the mass of the polluting bodies\, their\nformation temp
 erature\, and whether they experienced geochemical\ndifferentiation and fo
 rmed iron-nickel cores and magnesium silicate\nmantles similar to the rock
 y worlds of the Solar System. In this talk I\nwill outline the model and d
 iscuss the insights it provides into the\norigin and geology of rocky exo-
 planetary material. Additionally\, I will\ndiscuss how polluted white dwar
 f systems may be used to constrain the\ninterior compositions of exo-plane
 ts in an analogous manner to how the\nSolar System meteorite suites allowe
 d the Earth's interior to be\nconstrained.
LOCATION:ONLINE - Details to be sent by email
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