Small, strong planets are more likely to survive the death of a parent star.

Astrophysicists modeled the probability of destruction of various planets by tidal forces when their stars become white dwarfs, and identified the most significant factors by which they can avoid death. The resulting survival guide of exoplanets will help detect potential worlds around dead stars, for which a new generation of powerful telescopes is being developed.

Modeling the effect of star gravity changes on rotating rocky bodies, the researchers identified the most likely factors that would cause the planet to be within the radius of destruction, where an object held only by its own gravity disintegrates due to tidal forces, dolphin this area with its fragments.

Although the survival of the planet depends on many factors, models show that the more massive it is, the higher the likelihood of its death from tidal interaction.

But destruction also depends in part on viscosity, measures of resistance to deformation: low-viscosity exo-earths are easily attracted by a white dwarf, even if they are at a distance of five times the radius of destruction.

Exotic earths with high viscosity are easily swallowed only if they are closer than two radii of destruction. Such planets should consist entirely of heavier elements, such as the planetesimal in orbit of a white dwarf SDSS J122859.93 + 104032.9, previously discovered by another group of astronomers from the University of Warwick, who avoided absorption only by their small size.

Our study, although sophisticated in some respects, concerns only homogeneous stony planets. A multi-layered planet such as Earth is much more difficult to compute, but we are exploring the possibility of doing this.

-Dr. Dimitri Veras from the University of Warwick

The distance from the star, like the mass of the planet, has a strong correlation with survival or absorption. The safe distance depends on many parameters. In general, a small rocky homogeneous planet, which is three times closer to a white dwarf than Mercury to the Sun, is guaranteed not to be destroyed by tidal forces.

Which planets survive their star's death
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