Université de Montréal

Published purpose

Following the JWST ERS and Cycle 1 GO Announcement of Opportunity published on June 14, 2021, the CSA is providing funding via a Grant Agreement to the university to conduct their research using the JWST data. White dwarfs offer a novel alternative to measure the composition of exoplanets. In the atmosphere of some white dwarfs, spectral signature of a wide range of atoms is observed (Si, C, O, Fe, etc). Analysis shows that the relative content of these atoms matches that of asteroids in the Solar system. These and the fact that those white dwarfs also harbor an accretion disk, means that planets do survive the red giant phase at the end of a star life. This project aims at finding such planets by direct imaging.