Originally Posted by Agemegos (Post 2304175)

The ideal thing to do would be to calculate the maximum luminosity and radius of the star at its red giant maximum, remove everything that is inside it, generate the whole system by calculating all the planets' and moons' black-body temperatures from combined insolation at their closest approach to the red giant, add the effect of the immense solar winds during the formation of the planetary nebula. Then alter the orbits, calculate the luminosity of the white dwarf, calculate the new values of insolation and black-body temperature, adjust the atmosphere types and masses to account for anything that condenses or freezes out, and calculate the new surface temperature.

Originally Posted by whswhs (Post 2304195)

I did most of that, after starting by creating a planetary system for the star's Main Sequence period. But I'm not sure how you figure the effects of the solar winds. Are we talking about solar winds during the star's expansion to red giant maximum?

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl (Post 2304159)

Pulsar planets are most likely captures (they are too close to have formed at their current radius, and the loss of mass during a supernova would have had any surviving planetary cores migrate outwards rather than inwards). The few planets we have found around white dwarfs are likely captures as well.