arXiv subjects

Dimitri Veras

Publications and source records attributed to Dimitri Veras.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Where planetary solids survive sublimation around young and hot white dwarfs

All observed planetary systems orbiting single white dwarfs have lived through the hot stellar transition from an asymptotic giant branch star. In this post-nebular transition period, the initial conditions for planetary system evolution throughout white dwarf cooling are established. The hottest ($\gtrsim$ 20,000 K) and youngest ($\lesssim$ 20 Myr-old) white dwarf planetary system host stars differ significantly from their canonical older and colder counterparts by failing to support solid body accumulation in the immediate vicinity (a few $R_{\odot}$) of the white dwarf. Here, we analyse the likely locations of both solid-body survival and the sublimated gaseous content during this pivotal epoch, and the consequences. We find that (i) reservoirs of iron-rich, rocky and water-rich asteroids of radius $R$ that later observably enrich, or pollute, the white dwarf need to remain parked for the first tens of Myr of white dwarf cooling beyond critical distances of (16 au)$\times(1 {\rm km}/R)^{1/2}$ (for iron), (30 au)$\times(1 {\rm km}/R)^{1/2}$ (for rock) and (130 au)$\times(1 {\rm km}/R)^{1/2}$ (for snow), (ii) sublimation acts much more quickly than radiatively-driven orbital drifts from Poynting-Robertson drag or the Yarkovsky effect, and (iii) although large asteroids ($R \approx$ 10-1000 km) that are kicked on highly eccentric orbits around newly born white dwarfs could survive sublimation, they may fragment into debris which will sublime before the white dwarf cools. These results support, but do not necessitate, dynamical origin scenarios of polluted white dwarfs that feature delayed gravitational instability subsequent to the host star's asymptotic giant branch phase at Kuiper Belt-like distances, and beyond.

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arXiv2026

White dwarf planets in star clusters: gravitational scattering versus mass-loss effects

White dwarfs are unique laboratories for understanding the formation, evolution and survivability of planetary systems. Post-main sequence mass-loss will change planetary orbital properties and stir up debris discs, leading to the observed pollution of white dwarf atmospheres. However, to date, very few studies have investigated the impact of the stellar birth environment on white dwarf planetary systems. In this paper we simulate the evolution of giant planets around white dwarf progenitors from their formation in a star-forming region until 1Gyr, when the most massive stars ($>$2M$_\odot$) have left the main sequence. Our simulations self-consistently model $N$-body interactions between stars and planets while stars evolve into white dwarfs within the cluster lifetime. We find that although scattering interactions in dense star-forming regions create free-floating planets, and alter the orbital properties of up to 20 per cent of the surviving planets, the effects of mass-loss from the star dominate the dynamics. This behaviour is independent of the stellar density of the birth star-forming region, and largely independent of the initial planet orbital properties. Our simulations produce both captured planets around white dwarfs (potentially similar to WD 0806-661b), and triple systems with white dwarfs and planets (potentially similar to PSR B1620-26(AB)b), and our results yield a population synthesis of giant planets from 1 - 100au that may be relevant to Roman, Gaia and JWST observations.

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arXiv2026

TOI-3664 b, TOI-4034 b & TOI-6564 b: Three new hot Jupiters around stars approaching the terminal age main sequence

Studying the evolution of hot Jupiters requires a sample of well-characterised systems across all evolutionary states. We present three new gas giant exoplanets around stars approaching the end of the main sequence, a comparatively unexplored epoch of hot Jupiter evolution. These planets were discovered by TESS before being vetted and confirmed through dedicated spectroscopic follow-up programmes by CARMENES, CORALIE and MINERVA-Australis. TOI-3664 b has a period of 3.30 days, a radius of 1.22 +/- 0.03 RJup and a mass of 0.36 +/- 0.12 MJup. TOI-4034 b is a short-period hot Jupiter with a period of 1.80 days, a radius of 1.58 +/- 0.02 RJup and a mass of 0.87 +/- 0.16 MJup. Meanwhile TOI-6564 b has a period of 3.99 days, radius of 1.46 +/- 0.02 RJup and mass of 0.70 +/- 0.07 MJup. All three planets have radii larger than Jupiter but sub-Jupiter masses, in line with slight inflation as their hosts increase in luminosity towards the end of the main sequence. These exoplanets' low densities and hosts' advanced evolutionary states make them interesting planets with which to study the later stages of hot Jupiter evolution. Careful analysis was undertaken to determine the ages of each system, considering astrometry, gyrochronology, stellar isochrones and lithium abundance, yielding ages of 9.0 +2.4/-2.1 Gyr, 5.7 +/- 0.5 Gyr and 4.0 +/- 1.0 Gyr for TOI-3664, TOI-4034 and TOI-6564 respectively, yet each system has a similar evolutionary state because of their differing stellar masses (0.98 +/- 0.03, 1.19 +0.13/-0.03 and 1.18 +0.16/-0.03 M*). These three planets add more steps to the "age-ladder" of exoplanetary evolution, building towards the community's goal of understanding how planets evolve over time.

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arXiv2026

Size limits on tidal debris around white dwarfs: the km-size barrier

Compact disks of planetary debris orbiting white dwarfs provide a crucial window into our understanding of evolved planetary systems. The formation of these disks has been widely modeled with tidal fragmentation of minor planets that are rubble piles with no internal strength. However, rubble piles do have non-zero cohesive strength from Van der Waals forces, and here we demonstrate the consequences: breakup of these rubble piles sets a maximum fragment size, and we calculate this size \jks{for water ice, iron, and material densities corresponding to the lunar highlands, Vesta and the Earth}. We find that for typical minimum rubble pile strengths of $\sim$10-1000 Pa, the maximum fragment size is as large as small asteroids (0.1-1 km). This limit -- the km-size barrier -- also represents the characteristic sizes of tidal fragments. Most of the debris mass is contained in fragments of this size. Consequently, subsequent disk evolution should first feature a prominent dust-forming process, such as collisional grinding, before Poynting-Robertson drag can significantly shape the final disk. \jks{Further, we find that non-zero internal strength more narrowly radially confines the fragments than in the strengthless case.} This correction to previous assumptions adds to the growing evidence of the importance of collisions in the formation and evolution of white dwarf debris disks, while also helping to bound the size distribution in these disks for modeling efforts.

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arXiv2026

DebrisWatch II: Digging deeper for geosynchronous debris

The geosynchronous (GSO) debris environment is continually evolving. Regular monitoring of the region is consequently of great importance, though the trade-off between coverage and sensitivity makes this challenging for the population of optically faint debris, where collecting area becomes a pivotal factor. Surveys conducted with large-aperture telescopes have provided crucial insights into the nature of this largely uncharacterised population. In this paper, we revisit a survey conducted with the 2.54 m Isaac Newton Telescope (INT), presenting an overhaul of the astrometric calibration and object detection stages of the original analysis pipeline. We apply a blind stacking technique to boost target recovery, unearthing 25 tracklets previously missed by single-frame extraction methods, and pushing the sensitivity limit fainter by 1 magnitude. The same algorithm is applied to a contemporaneous dataset, captured with a 36 cm astrograph, enabling performance benchmarking through the attempted recovery of INT detections from commercial-off-the-shelf observations. We achieve sub-arcsecond astrometric accuracy through a combination of improved star trail centroiding and iterative distortion fitting, allowing short arc initial orbit solutions to be obtained. High-cadence light curves extracted for trailing detections indicate that faint fragments are proportionally more variable than bright derelicts, with many exhibiting photometric signatures of rapid tumbling, often straddling the image noise floor. Lastly, we present preliminary findings from a follow-up multi-national observation campaign, utilising telescopes in Australia, Japan and La Palma. As space traffic management concerns begin to extend beyond GSO altitudes, scientifically-driven surveys of high-altitude orbits have an important role to play in characterising the faint debris environment.

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arXiv2026

Producing planetary debris exterior to white dwarf Roche radii through sublimative rotational fission

The majority of white dwarfs that host periodic transiting planetary debris do so at distances that exceed the rubble-pile Roche limit, in disagreement with canonical formation models that focus on the tidal disruption of minor planets. Here, we quantify the conditions by which rotational fission due to sublimative outgassing ("SYORP" break-up) can occur outside of the Roche sphere in the distance range of 1-5 Roche radii. We use the Many Materials Orbital Sublimation (MaMOS) model to quantify the outgassing properties of three representative types of planetary materials: cores (iron), mantles (forsterite olivine) and comets (water ice), and characterise the resulting spin-up rate analytically by adopting SYORP coefficients in the range of $10^{-5}-10^{-3}$. We then compare this rate to that generated by the radiative YORP effect with YORP coefficients of $10^{-3}-10^{-2}$, and focus on planetesimals with radii of 0.1, 1.0, and 10 km. We find that for white dwarf cooling ages of up to $\sim$ 1 Gyr, sublimative fission of planetesimals and fragments $\lesssim$ 0.1 km in size due to water ice outgassing occur on observable timescales (within 10 yr), regardless if the spin-up is monotonic or stochastic. Further, these timescales are orders of magnitude shorter than the corresponding YORP fission timescales. For drier planetesimals, both iron and forsterite outgassing can be effective at 10-100 Myr cooling ages. Our results do not substantially differ for strengthless rubble piles versus objects with 1 kPa of internal strength. These findings add to growing evidence that gravitationally scattered comets and asteroids do not need to adopt pericentres within a white dwarf's Roche radius to eventually enrich, or pollute, the star with metals.

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arXiv2026

The evolution of exocomets and their source populations

We review the current state of knowledge of the long-term evolution of the small bodies that give rise to comets and exocomets, as well as their reservoirs. The active cometary phase is only transitory, and bodies that become comets pass from a source population, such as the Kuiper Belt, Oort Cloud or their extra-solar analogues, through the active cometary phase, to eventual dormancy or destruction. We discuss dynamical delivery channels that can move comets from their source reservoirs to orbits with small periapsides, and the depletion of these reservoirs by dynamical and collisional means. We also discuss the physical evolution of cometary nuclei, especially in light of recent advances from missions to Solar System comets such as Rosetta's visit to 67P. We then describe our current knowledge of interstellar objects, which can originate from the same source regions as exocomets but be amenable to detailed study when they enter the Solar System. We include a summary of stellar winds emanating from different types of stars, which become increasingly strong once stars leave the Main Sequence. This is followed by a description of how small bodies are affected by stellar evolution, and the range of comet-like phenomena observed towards white dwarf stars. Overall, while we have an increasingly good picture of the physical and dynamical evolution of Solar System comets, a number of large gaps remain in our knowledge of the physics of exocomets, related to our inability to directly probe these bodies and many of the planets that might be affecting their orbits.

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arXiv2026

Exocometary physics: material release and tails

Despite decades of observations, the physical processes governing mass loss from small bodies beyond our Solar System remain poorly constrained. These exocomets are often treated as analogs of Solar System comet, yet the stellar environments they inhabit spans a wide range in terms of luminosity, stellar winds, and evolutionary stage, leading to potentially very diverse physical behaviors. Within our Solar System, small bodies lose material through a range of mechanisms, including sublimation, desorption, impacts, and/or sputtering. Once released, the composition and dynamics of the ejecta are then altered by additional processes, such as dust sublimation, ionization, and radiation pressure. In extrasolar systems, these mechanisms unfold under vastly different radiative and plasma conditions, leading to a rich diversity of mass-loss pathways and observable signatures. This work reviews our understanding of the mechanisms driving mass loss from small bodies and the subsequent evolution of ejecta in diverse stellar environments. We compare the physical and chemical mechanisms that drive gas and dust production, and investigate how they scale with stellar luminosity, temperature, and activity. We then examine the processes that modify the composition of the ejecta (e.g., dust sublimation, dissociation, or ionisation) and its dynamics (e.g., radiation pressure or stellar winds). To illustrate how these processes vary across different stellar environments, we use four well-studied planetary systems as case studies: the Sun, $\beta$ Pictoris, AU Microscopii, and WD 1145+017. By exploring how cometary tails behave under such diverse conditions, this work provides a physical framework for interpreting exocometary activity and sheds light on why A-type stars, such as the famous $\beta$ Pictoris, are over-represented in the population of exocomet-hosting stars.

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arXiv2026

TIC-65910228 b / NGTS-38 b, a 180 day transiting warm super-Jupiter

We present the discovery of TIC-65910228 b / NGTS-38 b, a giant exoplanet with a radius of $1.081\pm0.047$ R$_\text{J}$ and a mass of $4.78_{-0.37}^{+0.39}$ M$_\text{J}$ on a long-period ($180.52797\pm0.00036$ day), moderately eccentric ($e=0.3086\pm0.010$) orbit transiting a bright (V=$10.230\pm0.020$ mag) metal rich ([Fe/H]=$0.33\pm0.09$, 'dex') F6V-F7V type host star. The planet was initially detected from a single transit in TESS Sector 33. A photometric monitoring campaign of 228 nights with NGTS detected a transit egress of the planet, which together with spectroscopic radial velocity monitoring with CORALIE and HARPS identified an orbital period of ~180.5,d. These radial velocity measurements also showed the mass of the companion to be planetary. Additional transit observations coordinated by the TESS follow-up observing program allowed further confirmation and refinement of this period. With its relatively cool equilibrium temperature of $457\pm11$ K, NGTS-38 b joins a small but growing population of well characterised transiting warm-Jupiters and has one of the longest periods of any discovered to date. The target is situated in the LOPS2 field of the upcoming PLATO mission which will allow for greater refinement of the system parameters and potential for the discovery of additional companions too small and/or too long-period to be seen by TESS or NGTS. NGTS-38 b's bright host star and wide orbital separation make it an attractive target for further study, including potential measurement of its spin-orbit alignment or targeted exomoon/ring searches.

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arXiv2025

The Future of Evolved Planetary Systems

Understanding the formation, evolution, and chemical diversity of exoplanets are now central areas of astrophysics research. White dwarfs provide a uniquely sensitive laboratory for studying the end stages of planetary-system evolution and for probing the bulk composition of both rocky and volatile-rich exoplanetary material. In the 2030s new facilities will transform our ability to carry out \textit{``industrial-scale''} astrophysics, leading to fundamental results and new challenges for the next decade. By combining the volume of data surveyed by the ESA {\em Gaia} mission and Vera C. Rubin Observatory with the next-generation of spectroscopic facilities, the European Southern Observatory (ESO) community will be in a position to obtain an unbiased census of evolved planetary systems, constrain the composition of thousands of disrupted planetesimals, and connect these signatures to Galactic populations and stellar birth environments. Thus, it is now the time for assessing those challenges and preparing for the future. This white paper outlines key science opportunities arising in the next decade and the technological requirements of future ESO facilities in enabling transformative discoveries in the 2040s. These future facilities will have to combine a number of features that are crucial for studying evolved planetary systems at white dwarfs, such as broad optical to near-infrared coverage, a high sensitivity at blue wavelengths, multi-resolution capability, massive multi-plexing, and time-domain reactivity.

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arXiv2025

The Origins & Reservoirs of Exocomets

Small bodies exist in distinct populations within their planetary systems. These reservoir populations hold a range of compositions, which to first order are dependent on formation location relative to their star. We provide a general overview of the nature of the reservoirs that source exocomets, from the influence of the stellar environment through planetesimal formation to comparisons with Solar System populations. Once transitioned from a young protoplanetary disc to a debris disc, a star can expect to be rained with exocomets. While exocomets are predominantly detected to date at A-type stars, planetesimals plausibly exist across a range of stellar masses, based on exoplanet abundance, debris disc occurrence and white dwarf infall.

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arXiv2025

Discovery of an icy and nitrogen-rich extrasolar planetesimal

White dwarfs accreting planetary debris provide detailed insight into the bulk composition of rocky exo-planetesimals. However, only one Kuiper-Belt analogue has been identified in that way so far. Here, we report the accretion of an icy extra-solar planetesimal onto white dwarf WD 1647+375 using ultraviolet spectroscopy from the Hubble Space Telescope. The accreted material is rich in the volatiles carbon, nitrogen, and sulphur, with a chemical composition analogous to Kuiper-belt objects (KBOs) in our solar system. It has a high nitrogen mass fraction ($5.1\pm1.6$ per cent) and large oxygen excess ($84\pm7$ per cent), indicating that the accreted planetesimal is water-rich (a water-to-rock ratio of $\simeq2.45$), corroborating a cometary- or dwarf planet-like composition. The white dwarf has been accreting at a rate of $\approx 2\times10^{8}$ g s$^{-1}$ for the past 13 years, implying a minimum mass of $\sim10^{17}$ g for the icy parent body. The actual mass could be several orders of magnitude larger if the accretion phase lasts $\sim10^5$ yr as estimated in the literature from debris disc studies. We argue that the accreted body is most likely a fragment of a KBO dwarf planet based on its nitrogen-rich composition. However, based on the chemical composition alone, it is difficult to discern whether this icy body is intrinsic to this planetary system, or may have an interstellar origin.

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arXiv2025

Transiting Planetary Debris near the Roche Limit of a White Dwarf on a 4.97$\,$hr Orbit -- and its Vanishing

We present the discovery of deep, irregular, periodic transits towards the white dwarf ZTF$\,$J1944$+$4557 using follow-up time-series photometry and spectroscopy from Palomar, Keck, McDonald, Perkins, and Lowell observatories. We find a predominant period of 4.9704$\,$hr, consistent with an orbit near the Roche limit of the white dwarf, with individual dips over 30$\%$ deep and lasting between 15 and 40 minutes. Similar to the first known white dwarf with transiting debris, WD$\,$1145$+$017, the transit events are well-defined with prominent out-of-transit phases where the white dwarf appears unobscured. Spectroscopy concurrent with transit photometry reveals the average Ca$\,$K equivalent width remains constant in and out of transit. The broadening observed in several absorption features cannot be reproduced by synthetic photospheric models, suggesting the presence of circumstellar gas. Simultaneous $g+r$- and $g+i$-band light curves from the CHIMERA instrument reveal no color dependence to the transit depths, requiring transiting dust grains to have sizes $s \gtrsim0.2\,\mu$m. The transit morphologies appear to be constantly changing at a rate faster than the orbital period. Overall transit activity varies in the system, with transit features completely disappearing during the seven months between our 2023 and 2024 observing seasons and then reappearing in 2025$~$March, still repeating at 4.9704$\,$hr. Our observations of the complete cessation and resumption of transit activity provide a novel laboratory for constraining the evolution of disrupted debris and processes like disk exhaustion and replenishment timescales at white dwarfs.

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arXiv2025

Bounding destruction timescales of minor planets orbiting white dwarfs with the sesquinary catastrophe

Dynamical activity attributed to the destruction of minor planets orbiting white dwarfs has now been photometrically monitored in individual systems for up to one decade, long enough to measure significant cessation and re-emergence of transit features. Further, periodicities which hint at the presence of debris orbiting exterior to the white dwarf Roche radius, along with widely varying estimates for debris disc lifetimes (up to Myrs), complicate theories for the formation and dynamical evolution of these systems. Here, we illustrate that minor planets orbiting white dwarfs with periods of $\approx$5-25 hours and longer while completely or partially avoiding tidal disruption satisfy the conditions for the occurrence of the sesquinary catastrophe, a phenomenon that occurs in the solar system when impacts from returning ejecta from a moon are fast enough to be erosional to the point of destruction. We hence find that the region corresponding to $\approx$1-4 white dwarf rubble-pile Roche radii represents a danger zone where the collisional timescale for the sesquinary catastrophe to occur is $\sim 10^2-10^5$ yr, suggesting that debris discs around white dwarfs are in a state of semi-continuous replenishment.

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arXiv2025

Resupplying planetary debris to old white dwarfs with supernova blast waves

One challenge with explaining how high levels of planetary debris can enrich, or "pollute", old ($\sim$3 Gyr) and very old ($\sim$10 Gyr) white dwarfs is that debris reservoirs deplete on shorter timescales, akin to the solar system's already eviscerated Main Belt and Kuiper Belt. Here, I explore how these extrasolar reservoirs can be resupplied through supernovae that propel distant ($\gtrsim 10^4$ au) dust, sand and pebbles, and potentially boulders and comets, into the inner ($\lesssim 10^2$ au) planetary system. I analytically constrain the geometry of these blast waves, and derive expressions for the probability of apt blast configurations occurring. I then derive the minimum kick magnitudes needed to generate stable, leaky and broken post-blast orbits, and prove that within this formalism, at most 23 per cent of true anomalies along an eccentric orbit could allow for resupplied planetary debris to experience repeated pericentre passages. By linking these kick magnitudes with debris sizes and relating these quantities to the local neighbourhood supernova rate, I conclude that the probabilities for ejection or resupply per supernova blast are $\approx$100 per cent for micron-sized dust and millimetre-sized pebbles and sand, and $\approx$0 per cent for asteroids larger than $\sim$10 km. In between these extremes, I expect metre-sized boulders to be resupplied at least once to very old white dwarfs over their cooling ages. The efficacy of this debris delivery mechanism is dependent on the time-varying sources and sinks in an exo-Oort cloud and how its parent white dwarf has, throughout its cooling age, traversed the Milky Way.

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arXiv2025

Tracing the formation and migration history: molecular signatures in the atmosphere of misaligned hot Jupiter WASP-94Ab using JWST NIRSpec/G395H

The discovery of hot Jupiters that orbit very close to their host stars has long challenged traditional models of planetary formation and migration. Characterising their atmospheric composition - mainly in the form of the carbon-to-oxygen (C/O) ratio and metallicity - can provide insights into their formation locations and evolution pathways. With JWST we can characterise the atmospheres of these types of planets more precisely than previously possible, primarily because it allows us to determine both their atmospheric oxygen and carbon composition. Here, we present a JWST NIRSpec/G395H transmission spectrum from 2.8-5.1$\mu m$ of WASP-94Ab, an inflated hot Jupiter with a retrograde misaligned orbit around its F-type host star. We find a relatively cloud-free atmosphere, with absorption features of H$_2$O and CO$_2$ at detection significances of $\sim 4\sigma$ and $\sim 11\sigma$, respectively. In addition, we detect tentative evidence of CO absorption at $\sim3\sigma$, as well as hints of sulphur with the detection of H$_2$S at a $\sim 2.5\sigma$ confidence level. Our favoured equilibrium chemistry model determines a C/O ratio of $0.49^{+0.08}_{-0.13}$ for WASP-94Ab's atmosphere, which is substellar compared to the star's C/O ratio of $0.68 \pm 0.10$. The retrieved atmospheric metallicity is similar to the star's metallicity as both are $\sim 2\times$ solar. We find that this sub-stellar C/O ratio and stellar metallicity can be best explained by pebble accretion or planetesimal accretion in combination with large-distance migration of the planet.

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arXiv2025

Disc-planet misalignment from an unstable triple system: IRAS04125

The IRAS01425+2902 wide binary system was recently reported to have both a young planet and a puzzling geometric arrangement, where the planet and binary both orbit edge-on, but misaligned by 60 deg to the circumprimary disc. This is the youngest transiting planet yet to be detected but its misalignment to the disc is difficult to explain. In this paper we explore the dissolution of an unstable triple system as a potential mechanism to produce this system. We simulate the effects of an ejection interaction in models using a highly inclined, retrograde flyby centred on the primary star of IRAS01425. The escaping star of ~0.35 solar masses inclines both the disc and binary orbits such that they have a relative misalignment of greater than 60 deg, as inferred from observations. The planet orbit also becomes inclined relative to the disc, and our interpretation predicts that the binary should have a highly eccentric orbit (e > 0.5 from our simulations). We additionally demonstrate that despite the high relative misalignment of the disc it is unlikely to be vulnerable to von Zeipel-Kozai-Lidov oscillations.

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arXiv2025

The dearth of high-mass hydrogen-atmosphere metal-polluted white dwarfs within 40 pc

We present a population synthesis model which addresses the different mass distributions of the metal-polluted and non-metal-polluted hydrogen-atmosphere white dwarfs identified in volume-limited samples. Specifically, metal-pollution has been observed to be rare in white dwarfs more massive than $\approx$0.7 $M_{\odot}$. Our population synthesis model invokes episodic accretion of planetary debris onto a synthetic population of white dwarfs. We find that the observed difference can be explained in the regime where most debris disks last for $10^4$$-$$10^6$ years. This is broadly consistent with observational estimates that disk lifetimes are on the order 10$^5$$-$10$^7$ years. We also invoke an alternate model which explores an upper limit on planetary system formation and survival around the intermediate-mass progenitors of the more massive white dwarfs. In this scenario, we find an upper limit on the polluted white dwarf mass of $M_{\rm wd}<0.72^{+0.07}_{-0.03}$ M$_{\odot}$. This implies an empirical maximum progenitor mass of $M_{\rm ZAMS}^{\rm max}=2.9^{+0.7}_{-0.3}$ M$_{\odot}$. This value is consistent with the maximum reliable host star mass of currently known exoplanet systems. We conclude by imposing these two results on the sample of He-atmosphere white dwarfs within 40\,pc. We find that both scenarios are capable of providing a consistent solution to the full sample of H- and He-atmosphere white dwarfs.

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