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ScienceQuiet 8d · day 10

Asteroids torn by white dwarfs fragment into kilometer-sized chunks, not dust

New research reveals asteroids don't immediately disintegrate near white dwarfs but remain in larger fragments due to internal molecular forces.

newest coverage 8d agosummary written 9d ago6 pieces NewswiresGoogle NewsReddit

What to know

  • Asteroids torn apart by white dwarf gravity fragment into kilometer-sized chunks (0.1–1 km), not fine dust, because internal Van der Waals forces give them minimal structural strength.
  • Previous models assumed rubble-pile asteroids had no internal strength; this research accounts for molecular cohesion between grains that acts as a "kilometer-size barrier" to further fragmentation.
  • These fragments must undergo additional collisions or processes to become the fine dust observed in white dwarf debris disks, changing how astronomers model planetary debris evolution around dying stars.

“When asteroids travel too close to white dwarfs, the dense remnants of stars that have exhausted their nuclear fuel, powerful gravitational forces can tear them apart.”

Planetary Science Institute, Research institution · Phys.org ↗ · Oct 28

Jordan Steckloff PSI Senior Scientist, lead researcherKat Volk Co-authorPlanetary Science Institute (PSI) Research institution

Asteroids torn by white dwarfs fragment into kilometer-sized chunks, not dust
psi.edu

How it unfolded 1 development · click the chart to see its coverage articlesposts

Peak 2 pieces in 3h at Oct 29, 6 PM; 6 pieces over 10 days (5 articles · 1 post) Oct 29, 6 PM — 2 pieces · 2 articles — Google News 1, Newswires 1Oct 29, 9 PM — quietOct 30, 12 AM — quietOct 30, 3 AM — 1 piece · 1 post — Reddit 1Oct 30, 6 AM — quietOct 30, 9 AM — quietOct 30, 12 PM — quietOct 30, 3 PM — quietOct 30, 6 PM — quietOct 30, 9 PM — quietOct 31, 12 AM — quietOct 31, 3 AM — quietOct 31, 6 AM — quietOct 31, 9 AM — 2 pieces · 2 articles — Google News 2Oct 31, 12 PM — quietOct 31, 3 PM — quietOct 31, 6 PM — quietOct 31, 9 PM — quietNov 1, 12 AM — quietNov 1, 2 AM — quietNov 1, 5 AM — quietNov 1, 8 AM — quietNov 1, 11 AM — quietNov 1, 2 PM — quietNov 1, 5 PM — quietNov 1, 8 PM — quietNov 1, 11 PM — quietNov 2, 2 AM — quietNov 2, 5 AM — quietNov 2, 8 AM — quietNov 2, 11 AM — quietNov 2, 2 PM — quietNov 2, 5 PM — quietNov 2, 8 PM — quietNov 2, 11 PM — quietNov 3, 2 AM — quietNov 3, 5 AM — quietNov 3, 8 AM — 1 piece · 1 article — Google News 1Nov 3, 11 AM — quietNov 3, 2 PM — quietNov 3, 5 PM — quietNov 3, 8 PM — quietNov 3, 11 PM — quietNov 4, 2 AM — quietNov 4, 5 AM — quietNov 4, 8 AM — quietNov 4, 11 AM — quietNov 4, 2 PM — quietNov 4, 5 PM — quietNov 4, 8 PM — quietNov 4, 11 PM — quietNov 5, 2 AM — quietNov 5, 5 AM — quietNov 5, 8 AM — quietNov 5, 11 AM — quietNov 5, 2 PM — quietNov 5, 5 PM — quietNov 5, 8 PM — quietNov 5, 11 PM — quietNov 6, 2 AM — quietNov 6, 5 AM — quietNov 6, 8 AM — quietNov 6, 11 AM — quietNov 6, 2 PM — quietNov 6, 5 PM — quietNov 6, 8 PM — quietNov 6, 11 PM — quietYesterday, 2 AM — quietYesterday, 5 AM — quietYesterday, 8 AM — quietYesterday, 11 AM — quietYesterday, 2 PM — quietYesterday, 5 PM — quietYesterday, 8 PM — quietYesterday, 11 PM — quietToday, 2 AM — quietToday, 5 AM — quietToday, 8 AM — quiet 1
Oct 30Oct 31Nov 1Nov 2Nov 3Nov 4Nov 5Nov 6yesterdaynow · 11:27 AM ET
  1. 1

    Study findings published: kilometer-size barrier limits tidal fragmentation

    Research reveals that rubble-pile asteroids retain internal strength from Van der Waals forces, leaving most debris mass in pieces 0.1 to 1 kilometer in size rather than dust, requiring additional collisions or processes to break apart further.

    “Understanding the details of how debris around white dwarfs is produced and evolves is important for putting the observations into context.”
    — Kat Volk
  2. background

    PSI researchers present study on asteroid fragmentation near white dwarfs — Jordan Steckloff and his team at the Planetary Science Institute presented research at the American Astronomical Society's Division for Planetary Sciences annual meeting showing that asteroids don't break directly into dust when torn apart by white dwarf gravity.

Also covered reported alongside — the timeline has no entry for these yet

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