Program: GS-2010A-Q-17

It is very likely that the gas giants in our Solar system will survive the evolution of the Sun into a white dwarf, and the same is thought to be generally true for many Jovian planets around solar-like stars. We have identified five white dwarfs hosting metal-rich debris discs that are thought to stem from the tidal disruption of asteroids. These debris discs are identified by double-peaked Ca II emission lines in the I-band. Infrared excess emission detected in Spitzer data obtained for one of the systems show an additional dusty component of the debris disc. Spectroscopic monitoring of SDSS1228+1040 shows that the Ca II line profiles vary in shape on time scales of months, with a possible period of ~4 years. The first step towards any physical model is to determine whether the observed variability is indeed periodic, and if so to establish the period of this phenomenon. We request a modest amount of Gemini-N/GMOS time to continue monitoring the debris disc in SDSS1228+1040, as well as to initiate equivalent observations for the other four systems.