Likely Metal Scarring in the Magnetic White Dwarf LHS 2534
Abstract
There are only three white dwarfs known to possess metal-enriched polar caps due to magnetically guided accretion. These rare systems offer a unique opportunity to study planetesimal accretion and how magnetic fields influence the spreading of material across the atmosphere. To better study these processes however, more targets are needed. Here we report our findings from an observing campaign on the magnetic white dwarf LHS 2534. Time-resolved spectra at the MMT show clear variability in the strength of the Na I and Cr I features. We find that the strengths of these features vary over a period of 19.46 and 19.36 hours respectively, closely matching the 20.22 hour period determined from K2 photometry. Our findings demonstrate the ability to detect and study these variable objects with spectroscopy, and time-series observations of similar targets in the future will provide more insight into how these atmospheres form.
Related
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BibTeX
@misc{souchet2026likely,
title = {{Likely Metal Scarring in the Magnetic White Dwarf LHS 2534}},
author = {Ryan J. Souchet and Adam Moss and Jamie Tayar and Warren R. Brown and Mukremin Kilic and J. J. Hermes},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.40741},
eprint = {2610.40741},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.40741},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Likely Metal Scarring in the Magnetic White Dwarf LHS 2534
AU - Ryan J. Souchet
AU - Adam Moss
AU - Jamie Tayar
AU - Warren R. Brown
AU - Mukremin Kilic
AU - J. J. Hermes
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/29
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.40741
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.40741
AB - There are only three white dwarfs known to possess metal-enriched polar caps due to magnetically guided accretion. These rare systems offer a unique opportunity to study planetesimal accretion and how magnetic fields influence the spreading of material across the atmosphere. To better study these processes however, more targets are needed. Here we report our findings from an observing campaign on the magnetic white dwarf LHS 2534. Time-resolved spectra at the MMT show clear variability in the strength of the Na I and Cr I features. We find that the strengths of these features vary over a period of 19.46 and 19.36 hours respectively, closely matching the 20.22 hour period determined from K2 photometry. Our findings demonstrate the ability to detect and study these variable objects with spectroscopy, and time-series observations of similar targets in the future will provide more insight into how these atmospheres form.
ER -