Revealing a Main-sequence Star that Consumed a Planet with JWST
The subluminous red nova (SLRN) Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) SLRN-2020 is the most compelling direct detection of a planet being consumed by its host star, a scenario known as a planetary engulfment event. We present JWST spectroscopy of ZTF SLRN-2020 taken +830 days after its optical emission pe...
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2025-01-01
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adb429 |
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| author | Ryan M. Lau Jacob E. Jencson Colette Salyk Kishalay De Ori D. Fox Matthew J. Hankins Mansi M. Kasliwal Charles D. Keyes Morgan Macleod Michael E. Ressler Sam Rose |
| author_facet | Ryan M. Lau Jacob E. Jencson Colette Salyk Kishalay De Ori D. Fox Matthew J. Hankins Mansi M. Kasliwal Charles D. Keyes Morgan Macleod Michael E. Ressler Sam Rose |
| author_sort | Ryan M. Lau |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The subluminous red nova (SLRN) Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) SLRN-2020 is the most compelling direct detection of a planet being consumed by its host star, a scenario known as a planetary engulfment event. We present JWST spectroscopy of ZTF SLRN-2020 taken +830 days after its optical emission peak using the NIRSpec fixed-slit 3–5 μ m high-resolution grating and the MIRI 5–12 μ m low-resolution spectrometer. NIRSpec reveals the ^12 CO fundamental band ( ν = 1–0) in emission at ∼4.7 μ m, Brackett- α emission, and the potential detection of PH _3 in emission at ∼4.3 μ m. The JWST spectra are consistent with the claim that ZTF SLRN-2020 arose from a planetary engulfment event. We utilize DUSTY to model the late-time ∼1–12 μ m spectral energy distribution (SED) of ZTF SLRN-2020, where the best-fit parameters indicate the presence of warm, $72{0}_{-50}^{+80}$ K, circumstellar dust with a total dust mass of Log $\left(\tfrac{{M}_{{\rm{d}}}}{{M}_{\odot }}\right)=-10.6{1}_{-0.16}^{+0.08}$ M _⊙ . We also fit a DUSTY model to archival photometry taken +320 days after the peak that suggested the presence of a cooler, ${T}_{{\rm{d}}}=28{0}_{-20}^{+450}$ K, and more massive, Log $\left(\tfrac{{M}_{{\rm{d}}}}{{M}_{\odot }}\right)=-5.8{9}_{-3.21}^{+0.29}$ , circumstellar dust component. Assuming the cool component originates from the ZTF SLRN-2020 ejecta, we interpret the warm component as fallback from the ejecta. From the late-time SED model, we measure a luminosity of ${L}_{* }=0.2{9}_{-0.06}^{+0.03}$ L _⊙ for the remnant host star, which is consistent with a ∼0.7 M _⊙ K-type star that should not yet have evolved off the main sequence. If ZTF SLRN-2020 was not triggered by stellar evolution, we suggest that the planetary engulfment was due to orbital decay from tidal interactions between the planet and the host star. |
| format | Article |
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| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1538-4357 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
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| spelling | doaj-art-efdc021557274d66b069216965b8fd7d2025-08-20T02:11:34ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572025-01-0198328710.3847/1538-4357/adb429Revealing a Main-sequence Star that Consumed a Planet with JWSTRyan M. Lau0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0778-0321Jacob E. Jencson1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5754-4007Colette Salyk2https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3682-6632Kishalay De3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8989-0542Ori D. Fox4https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2238-1572Matthew J. Hankins5https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9315-8437Mansi M. Kasliwal6https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5619-4938Charles D. Keyes7https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4834-369XMorgan Macleod8https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1417-8024Michael E. Ressler9https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5644-8830Sam Rose10https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4725-4481NSF NOIRLab , 950 N. Cherry Ave., Tucson, AZ 85719, USA ; ryan.lau@noirlab.eduIPAC , Mail Code 100-22, Caltech, 1200 E. California Blvd. Pasadena, CA 91125, USADepartment of Physics and Astronomy , Vassar College, 124 Raymond Ave., Poughkeepsie, NY 12604, USAMIT-Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research , 77 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA 02139, USASpace Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USAArkansas Tech University , 215 West O Street, Russellville, AR 72801, USADivision of Physics, Mathematics, and Astronomy, California Institute of Technology , Pasadena, CA 91125, USASpace Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USACenter for Astrophysics—Harvard & Smithsonian 60 Garden Street , MS-16, Cambridge, MA 02138, USAJet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology , MS 169-327, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109, USADivision of Physics, Mathematics, and Astronomy, California Institute of Technology , Pasadena, CA 91125, USAThe subluminous red nova (SLRN) Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) SLRN-2020 is the most compelling direct detection of a planet being consumed by its host star, a scenario known as a planetary engulfment event. We present JWST spectroscopy of ZTF SLRN-2020 taken +830 days after its optical emission peak using the NIRSpec fixed-slit 3–5 μ m high-resolution grating and the MIRI 5–12 μ m low-resolution spectrometer. NIRSpec reveals the ^12 CO fundamental band ( ν = 1–0) in emission at ∼4.7 μ m, Brackett- α emission, and the potential detection of PH _3 in emission at ∼4.3 μ m. The JWST spectra are consistent with the claim that ZTF SLRN-2020 arose from a planetary engulfment event. We utilize DUSTY to model the late-time ∼1–12 μ m spectral energy distribution (SED) of ZTF SLRN-2020, where the best-fit parameters indicate the presence of warm, $72{0}_{-50}^{+80}$ K, circumstellar dust with a total dust mass of Log $\left(\tfrac{{M}_{{\rm{d}}}}{{M}_{\odot }}\right)=-10.6{1}_{-0.16}^{+0.08}$ M _⊙ . We also fit a DUSTY model to archival photometry taken +320 days after the peak that suggested the presence of a cooler, ${T}_{{\rm{d}}}=28{0}_{-20}^{+450}$ K, and more massive, Log $\left(\tfrac{{M}_{{\rm{d}}}}{{M}_{\odot }}\right)=-5.8{9}_{-3.21}^{+0.29}$ , circumstellar dust component. Assuming the cool component originates from the ZTF SLRN-2020 ejecta, we interpret the warm component as fallback from the ejecta. From the late-time SED model, we measure a luminosity of ${L}_{* }=0.2{9}_{-0.06}^{+0.03}$ L _⊙ for the remnant host star, which is consistent with a ∼0.7 M _⊙ K-type star that should not yet have evolved off the main sequence. If ZTF SLRN-2020 was not triggered by stellar evolution, we suggest that the planetary engulfment was due to orbital decay from tidal interactions between the planet and the host star.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adb429Star-planet interactionsPlanetary system evolutionStellar mergers |
| spellingShingle | Ryan M. Lau Jacob E. Jencson Colette Salyk Kishalay De Ori D. Fox Matthew J. Hankins Mansi M. Kasliwal Charles D. Keyes Morgan Macleod Michael E. Ressler Sam Rose Revealing a Main-sequence Star that Consumed a Planet with JWST The Astrophysical Journal Star-planet interactions Planetary system evolution Stellar mergers |
| title | Revealing a Main-sequence Star that Consumed a Planet with JWST |
| title_full | Revealing a Main-sequence Star that Consumed a Planet with JWST |
| title_fullStr | Revealing a Main-sequence Star that Consumed a Planet with JWST |
| title_full_unstemmed | Revealing a Main-sequence Star that Consumed a Planet with JWST |
| title_short | Revealing a Main-sequence Star that Consumed a Planet with JWST |
| title_sort | revealing a main sequence star that consumed a planet with jwst |
| topic | Star-planet interactions Planetary system evolution Stellar mergers |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adb429 |
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