Search for white dwarf companions of cool stars with peculiar element abundances

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Boehm-Vitense, E.

1984-01-01

A search for a white dwarf companions of cool stars with peculiar element abundances was undertaken. One additional star the xi Cet, was found with a white dwarf companion. It was found that HR 1016, 56Uma, 16 Ser, have high excitation emission lines which indicate a high temperature object in the system. It is suggested that since these indications for high temperature companions were seen for all nearby Ba stars, it is highly probable that all Ba stars have white dwarf companions, and that the peculiar element abundances seen in the Ba stars are due to mass transfer. Observations, arguments and conclusions are presented. White dwarf companions were not found. Together with the Li and Be abundances and the chromospheric emission line spectra in these stars were studied. No white dwarf companions were seen for subgiant CH stars.

Search for white dwarf companions of cool stars with peculiar element abundances

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boehm-Vitense, E.

1984-01-01

A search for a white dwarf companions of cool stars with peculiar element abundances was undertaken. One additional star the xi Cet, was found with a white dwarf companion. It was found that HR 1016, 56Uma, 16 Ser, have high excitation emission lines which indicate a high temperature object in the system. It is suggested that since these indications for high temperature companions were seen for all nearby Ba stars, it is highly probable that all Ba stars have white dwarf companions, and that the peculiar element abundances seen in the Ba stars are due to mass transfer. Observations, arguments and conclusions are presented. White dwarf companions were not found. Together with the Li and Be abundances and the chromospheric emission line spectra in these stars were studied. No white dwarf companions were seen for subgiant CH stars

A low-temperature companion to a white dwarf star

Science.gov (United States)

Becklin, E. E.; Zuckerman, B.

1988-01-01

An infrared object located about 120 AU from the white dwarf GD165 has been discovered. With the exception of the possible brown dwarf companion to Giclas 29-38 reported last year, the companion to GD165 is the coolest (2100 K) dwarf star ever reported and, according to some theoretical models, it should be a substellar brown dwarf with a mass between 0.06 and 0.08 solar mass. These results, together with newly discovered low-mass stellar companions to white dwarfs, change the investigation of very low-mass stars from the study of a few chance objects to that of a statistical distribution. In particular, it appears that very low-mass stars and perhaps even brown dwarfs could be quite common in the Galaxy.

Physics of white dwarf stars

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Koester, D.; Chanmugam, G. (Louisiana State Univ., New Orleans, LA (USA))

1990-07-01

White dwarf stars, compact objects with extremely high interior densities, are the most common end product in the evolution of stars. In this paper we review the history of their discovery, and of the realisation that their structure is determined by the physics of the degenerate electron gas. Spectral types and surface chemical composition show a complicated pattern dominated by diffusion processes and their interaction with accretion, convection and mass loss. While this interaction is not completely understood in all its detail at present, the study may ultimately lead to important constraints on the theory of stellar evolution in general. Variability, caused by non-radial oscillations of the star, is a common phenomenon and is shown to be a powerful probe of the structure of deeper layers that are not directly accessible to observation. Very strong magnetic fields detected in a small fraction of white dwarfs offer a unique opportunity to study the behaviour of atoms under conditions that cannot be simulated in terrestrial laboratories. (author).

White Dwarfs, Neutron Stars and Black Holes

Science.gov (United States)

Szekeres, P.

1977-01-01

The three possible fates of burned-out stars: white dwarfs, neutron stars and black holes, are described in elementary terms. Characteristics of these celestial bodies, as provided by Einstein's work, are described. (CP)

Origin of the DA and non-DA white dwarf stars

Science.gov (United States)

Shipman, Harry L.

1989-01-01

Various proposals for the bifurcation of the white dwarf cooling sequence are reviewed. 'Primordial' theories, in which the basic bifurcation of the white dwarf sequence is rooted in events predating the white dwarf stage of stellar evolution, are discussed, along with the competing 'mixing' theories in which processes occurring during the white dwarf stage are responsible for the existence of DA or non-DA stars. A new proposal is suggested, representing a two-channel scenario. In the DA channel, some process reduces the hydrogen layer mass to the value of less than 10 to the -7th. The non-DA channel is similar to that in the primordial scenario. These considerations suggest that some mechanism operates in both channels to reduce the thickness of the outermost layer of the white dwarf. It is also noted that accretion from the interstellar medium has little to do with whether a particular white dwarf becomes a DA or a non-DA star.

The distribution of masses and radii of white-dwarf stars

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shipman, H.L.

1978-01-01

The status of determinations of white dwarf radii by model atmosphere methods is reviewed. The results are that (i) the mean radius of a sample of 95 hydrogen-rich stars with parallaxes is 0.0131 R(Sun); (ii) the mean radius of a sample of 13 helium-rich stars is 0.011 R(Sun), indistinguishably different from the radius of the hydrogen-rich stars; and (iii) that the most serious limitation on our knowledge of the mean radius of white dwarfs is the influence of selection effects. An estimate of the selection effects indicates that the true mean white dwarf radius is near 0.011 R(Sun). (Auth.)

Do some x-ray stars have white dwarf companions

Science.gov (United States)

Mccollum, Bruce

1995-01-01

Some Be stars which are intermittent X-ray sources may have white dwarf companions rather than neutron stars. It is not possible to prove or rule out the existence of Be + WD systems using X-ray or optical data. However, the presence of a white dwarf could be established by the detection of its EUV continuum shortward of the Be star's continuum turnover at 100 A. Either the detection or the nondetection of Be + WD systems would have implications for models of Be star variability, models of Be binary system formation and evolution, and models of wind-fed accretion.

White dwarf-red dwarf binaries in the Galaxy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Besselaar, E.J.M. van den

2007-01-01

This PhD thesis shows several studies on white dwarf - red dwarf binaries. White dwarfs are the end products of most stars and red dwarfs are normal hydrogen burning low-mass stars. White dwarf - red dwarf binaries are both blue (white dwarf) and red (red dwarf). Together with the fact that they are

Astero-archaeology: Reading the galactic history recorded in the white dwarf stars

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wood, M.A.

1990-01-01

Galactic history is written in its oldest stars, the white dwarfs. Although still some years away from reading the details of that history, significant limits can already be placed on both the Galactic age and star formation history. The following is a complete analysis of the problem, starting with a fresh exploration of the physics of white dwarf stars. An extensive grid of numerical model sequences is presented and these are used to describe in detail the behavior of the white dwarf stars as a function of mass, core composition, surface layer masses and compositions, and uncertainties in the constitutive physics. These model sequences are used to decode the information contained in the white dwarf luminosity function. A theoretical context is established for current and future observations by presenting luminosity functions computed with differing choices for the input white dwarf evolutionary sequences, the assumed age of the local disk, the star formation rate as a function of time, and the possibility of scale height inflation of the disk with time. Finally, white dwarf cosmochronology is discussed within the context of other, conflicting, methods of cosmochronology. How this work can help resolve these conflicts and shed light on fundamental problems in galaxy formation and cosmology.

Astero-archaeology: Reading the galactic history recorded in the white dwarf stars

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wood, M.A.

1990-01-01

Galactic history is written in its oldest stars, the white dwarfs. Although still some years away from reading the details of that history, significant limits can already be placed on both the Galactic age and star formation history. The following is a complete analysis of the problem, starting with a fresh exploration of the physics of white dwarf stars. An extensive grid of numerical model sequences is presented and these are used to describe in detail the behavior of the white dwarf stars as a function of mass, core composition, surface layer masses and compositions, and uncertainties in the constitutive physics. These model sequences are used to decode the information contained in the white dwarf luminosity function. A theoretical context is established for current and future observations by presenting luminosity functions computed with differing choices for the input white dwarf evolutionary sequences, the assumed age of the local disk, the star formation rate as a function of time, and the possibility of scale height inflation of the disk with time. Finally, white dwarf cosmochronology is discussed within the context of other, conflicting, methods of cosmochronology. How this work can help resolve these conflicts and shed light on fundamental problems in galaxy formation and cosmology

Suppression of cooling by strong magnetic fields in white dwarf stars.

Science.gov (United States)

Valyavin, G; Shulyak, D; Wade, G A; Antonyuk, K; Zharikov, S V; Galazutdinov, G A; Plachinda, S; Bagnulo, S; Machado, L Fox; Alvarez, M; Clark, D M; Lopez, J M; Hiriart, D; Han, Inwoo; Jeon, Young-Beom; Zurita, C; Mujica, R; Burlakova, T; Szeifert, T; Burenkov, A

2014-11-06

Isolated cool white dwarf stars more often have strong magnetic fields than young, hotter white dwarfs, which has been a puzzle because magnetic fields are expected to decay with time but a cool surface suggests that the star is old. In addition, some white dwarfs with strong fields vary in brightness as they rotate, which has been variously attributed to surface brightness inhomogeneities similar to sunspots, chemical inhomogeneities and other magneto-optical effects. Here we describe optical observations of the brightness and magnetic field of the cool white dwarf WD 1953-011 taken over about eight years, and the results of an analysis of its surface temperature and magnetic field distribution. We find that the magnetic field suppresses atmospheric convection, leading to dark spots in the most magnetized areas. We also find that strong fields are sufficient to suppress convection over the entire surface in cool magnetic white dwarfs, which inhibits their cooling evolution relative to weakly magnetic and non-magnetic white dwarfs, making them appear younger than they truly are. This explains the long-standing mystery of why magnetic fields are more common amongst cool white dwarfs, and implies that the currently accepted ages of strongly magnetic white dwarfs are systematically too young.

SPITZER OBSERVATIONS OF WHITE DWARFS: THE MISSING PLANETARY DEBRIS AROUND DZ STARS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu, S.; Jura, M.

2012-01-01

We report a Spitzer/Infrared Array Camera search for infrared excesses around white dwarfs, including 14 newly observed targets and 16 unpublished archived stars. We find a substantial infrared excess around two warm white dwarfs—J220934.84+122336.5 and WD 0843+516, the latter apparently being the hottest white dwarf known to display a close-in dust disk. Extending previous studies, we find that the fraction of white dwarfs with dust disks increases as the star's temperature increases; for stars cooler than 10,000 K, even the most heavily polluted ones do not have ∼1000 K dust. There is tentative evidence that the dust disk occurrence is correlated with the volatility of the accreted material. In the Appendix, we modify a previous analysis to clarify how Poynting-Robertson drag might play an important role in transferring materials from a dust disk into a white dwarf's atmosphere.

Pulsating low-mass white dwarfs in the frame of new evolutionary sequences. V. Asteroseismology of ELMV white dwarf stars

Science.gov (United States)

Calcaferro, Leila M.; Córsico, Alejandro H.; Althaus, Leandro G.

2017-11-01

Context. Many pulsating low-mass white dwarf stars have been detected in the past years in the field of our Galaxy. Some of them exhibit multiperiodic brightness variation, therefore it is possible to probe their interiors through asteroseismology. Aims: We present a detailed asteroseismological study of all the known low-mass variable white dwarf stars based on a complete set of fully evolutionary models that are representative of low-mass He-core white dwarf stars. Methods: We employed adiabatic radial and nonradial pulsation periods for low-mass white dwarf models with stellar masses ranging from 0.1554 to 0.4352 M⊙ that were derived by simulating the nonconservative evolution of a binary system consisting of an initially 1 M⊙ zero-age main-sequence (ZAMS) star and a 1.4 M⊙ neutron star companion. We estimated the mean period spacing for the stars under study (where this was possible), and then we constrained the stellar mass by comparing the observed period spacing with the average of the computed period spacings for our grid of models. We also employed the individual observed periods of every known pulsating low-mass white dwarf star to search for a representative seismological model. Results: We found that even though the stars under analysis exhibit few periods and the period fits show multiplicity of solutions, it is possible to find seismological models whose mass and effective temperature are in agreement with the values given by spectroscopy for most of the cases. Unfortunately, we were not able to constrain the stellar masses by employing the observed period spacing because, in general, only few periods are exhibited by these stars. In the two cases where we were able to extract the period spacing from the set of observed periods, this method led to stellar mass values that were substantially higher than expected for this type of stars. Conclusions: The results presented in this work show the need for further photometric searches, on the one hand

He stars and He-accreting CO white dwarfs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Limongi, M.; Tornambe, A.

1991-01-01

He star models in the mass range 0.4-1.0 solar mass have been evolved until the red giant phase or, depending on their mass, until crystallization on the white-dwarf cooling sequence. Some of the degenerate structures obtained in these computations have been successively accreted at various He accretion rates in order to better define the fate of the accreting dwarf versus its mass and accretion rate for a fixed degeneracy level of the accreting dwarf. He stars have been further induced to transfer mass to a degenerate companion through Roche lobe overflow, in conditions of large gravitational wave radiation by the system. CO dwarfs in binary systems with He stars are found to experience a thermal behavior whose effects are such to locate the structure on the verge of obtaining a strong SN-like explosive event. 22 refs

New white dwarf and subdwarf stars in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 12

OpenAIRE

Kepler, S. O.; Pelisoli, Ingrid; Koester, Detlev; Ourique, Gustavo; Romero, Alejandra Daniela; Reindl, Nicole; Kleinman, Scot J.; Eisenstein, Daniel J.; Valois, A. Dean M.; Amaral, Larissa A.

2015-01-01

We report the discovery of 6576 new spectroscopically confirmed white dwarf and subdwarf stars in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 12. We obtain Teff, log g and mass for hydrogen atmospherewhite dwarf stars (DAs) and helium atmospherewhite dwarf stars (DBs), estimate the calcium/helium abundances for the white dwarf stars with metallic lines (DZs) and carbon/helium for carbon-dominated spectra (DQs). We found one central star of a planetary nebula, one ultracompact helium binary (AM ...

The critical binary star separation for a planetary system origin of white dwarf pollution

Science.gov (United States)

Veras, Dimitri; Xu, Siyi; Rebassa-Mansergas, Alberto

2018-01-01

The atmospheres of between one quarter and one half of observed single white dwarfs in the Milky Way contain heavy element pollution from planetary debris. The pollution observed in white dwarfs in binary star systems is, however, less clear, because companion star winds can generate a stream of matter which is accreted by the white dwarf. Here, we (i) discuss the necessity or lack thereof of a major planet in order to pollute a white dwarf with orbiting minor planets in both single and binary systems, and (ii) determine the critical binary separation beyond which the accretion source is from a planetary system. We hence obtain user-friendly functions relating this distance to the masses and radii of both stars, the companion wind, and the accretion rate on to the white dwarf, for a wide variety of published accretion prescriptions. We find that for the majority of white dwarfs in known binaries, if pollution is detected, then that pollution should originate from planetary material.

Determination of the upper mass limit for stars producing white-dwarf remnants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Romanishin, W.; Angel, J.R.P.

1980-01-01

We have searched ultraviolet and red plates of four open clusters (NGC 2168, 2287, 2422, and 6633) for faint blue objects which might be white dwarf members of the clusters. The most massive stars in these clusters range from 3 to 6 M/sub sun/. We find a definite concentration of faint blue objects in the clusters. This fact, plus initial photoelectric photometry, provides strong support for the identification of many of these objects as cluster white dwarfs. By modeling the expected number of possible white dwarfs in each cluster, we are able to put some limits on m/sub w/, the upper stellar mass limit for formation of white dwarfs. Our data require that some stars of at least 5 M/sub sun/ have evolved into white dwarfs and give a most probable value of 7 M/sub sun/ for m/sub w/

Star's death and rebirth. White dwarfs, supernovae, pulsars, black holes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Otzen Petersen, J [Copenhagen Univ. (Denmark)

1975-01-01

The evolution of a star from a main sequence star of approximately solar mass, first to a red giant, thereafter to a white dwarf is described in detail. The evolution of more massive stars to supernovae, neutron stars and pulsars is then discussed with special reference to the Crab Nebula. Black holes and X-ray sources are also discussed, in this case with reference to the Cygnus X-1 system. In conclusion, it is pointed out that after their active phase white dwarfs, neutron stars and black holes may exist as dead bodies in space, and only be observeable through their gravitational fields. It is possible that a great number of such bodies may exist, and contribute to the stability of galaxies, also possibly facilitating the explanation of the galaxies' red shifts by means of simple universe models.

White Dwarfs in Star Clusters: The Initial-Final Mass Relation for Stars from 0.85 to 8 M$_\\odot$

Science.gov (United States)

Cummings, Jeffrey; Kalirai, Jason; Tremblay, P.-E.; Ramírez-Ruiz, Enrico

2018-01-01

The spectroscopic study of white dwarfs provides both their mass, cooling age, and intrinsic photometric properties. For white dwarfs in the field of well-studied star clusters, this intrinsic photometry can be used to determine if they are members of that star cluster. Comparison of a member white dwarf's cooling age to its total cluster's age provides the evolutionary timescale of its progenitor star, and hence the mass. This is the initial-final mass relation (IFMR) for stars, which gives critical information on how a progenitor star evolves and loses mass throughout its lifetime, and how this changes with progenitor mass. Our work, for the first time, presents a uniform analysis of 85 white dwarf cluster members spanning from progenitor masses of 0.85 to 8 M$_\\odot$. Comparison of our work to theoretical IFMRs shows remarkable consistency in their shape but differences remain. We will discuss possible explanations for these differences, including the effects of stellar rotation.

SDSS DR7 WHITE DWARF CATALOG

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kleinman, S. J.; Nitta, A. [Gemini Observatory, 670 North A' ohoku Place, Hilo, HI 96720 (United States); Kepler, S. O.; Pelisoli, Ingrid; Pecanha, Viviane; Costa, J. E. S. [Instituto de Fisica, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS (Brazil); Koester, D. [Institut fuer Theoretische Physik und Astrophysik, Universitaet Kiel, D-24098 Kiel (Germany); Krzesinski, J. [Mt. Suhora Observatory, Pedagogical University of Cracow, ul. Podchorazych 2, 30-084 Cracow (Poland); Dufour, P.; Lachapelle, F.-R.; Bergeron, P. [Departement de Physique, Universite de Montreal, C. P. 6128, Succ. Centre-Ville, Montreal, Quebec H3C 3J7 (Canada); Yip, Ching-Wa [Department of Physics and Astronomy, The Johns Hopkins University, 3701 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States); Harris, Hugh C. [United States Naval Observatory, Flagstaff Station, 10391 West Naval Observatory Road, Flagstaff, AZ 86001-8521 (United States); Eisenstein, Daniel J. [Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, MS 20, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Althaus, L.; Corsico, A., E-mail: hch@nofs.navy.mil [Facultad de Ciencias Astronomicas y Geofisicas, Paseo del Bosque S/N, (1900) La Plata (Argentina)

2013-01-15

We present a new catalog of spectroscopically confirmed white dwarf stars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Data Release 7 spectroscopic catalog. We find 20,407 white dwarf spectra, representing 19,712 stars, and provide atmospheric model fits to 14,120 DA and 1011 DB white dwarf spectra from 12,843 and 923 stars, respectively. These numbers represent more than a factor of two increase in the total number of white dwarf stars from the previous SDSS white dwarf catalogs based on DR4 data. Our distribution of subtypes varies from previous catalogs due to our more conservative, manual classifications of each star in our catalog, supplementing our automatic fits. In particular, we find a large number of magnetic white dwarf stars whose small Zeeman splittings mimic increased Stark broadening that would otherwise result in an overestimated log g if fit as a non-magnetic white dwarf. We calculate mean DA and DB masses for our clean, non-magnetic sample and find the DB mean mass is statistically larger than that for the DAs.

From strange stars to strange dwarfs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Glendenning, N.K.; Kettner, C.; Weber, F.

1995-01-01

We determine all possible equilibrium sequences of compact strange-matter stars with nuclear crusts, which range from massive strange stars to strange white dwarf endash like objects (strange dwarfs). The properties of such stars are compared with those of their nonstrange counterparts emdash neutron stars and ordinary white dwarfs. The main emphasis of this paper is on strange dwarfs, which we divide into two distinct categories. The first one consists of a core of strange matter enveloped within ordinary white dwarf matter. Such stars are hydrostatically stable with or without the strange core and are therefore referred to as open-quote open-quote trivial close-quote close-quote strange dwarfs. This is different for the second category which forms an entirely new class of dwarf stars that contain nuclear material up to 4x10 4 times denser than in ordinary white dwarfs of average mass, M∼0.6 M circle-dot , and still about 400 times denser than in the densest white dwarfs. The entire family of such dwarfs, denoted dense strange dwarfs, owes its hydrostatic stability to the strange core. A striking features of strange dwarfs is that the entire sequence from the maximum-mass strange star to the maximum-mass strange dwarf is stable to radial oscillations. The minimum-mass star is only conditionally stable, and the sequences on both sides are stable. Such a stable, continuous connection does not exist between ordinary white dwarfs and neutron stars, which are known to be separated by a broad range of unstable stars. We find an expansive range of very low mass (planetary-like) strange-matter stars (masses even below 10 -4 M circle-dot are possible) that arise as natural dark-matter candidates, which if abundant enough in our Galaxy, should be seen in the gravitational microlensing searches that are presently being performed. copyright 1995 The American Astronomical Society

Detection of a white dwarf companion to the Hyades stars HD 27483

Science.gov (United States)

Boehm-Vitense, Erika

1993-01-01

We observed with IUE a white dwarf (WD) companion to the Hyades F6 V binary stars HD 27483. This system is known to be a close binary of two nearly equal stars with an orbital period of 3.05 days. Our IUE observations revealed the presence of a third star, a white dwarf with an effective temperature of 23,000 +/- 1000 K and a mass of approximately 0.6 solar mass. Its presence in the Hyades cluster with a known age permits me to derive the mass of its progenitor, which must have been about 2.3 solar masses. The presence of the white dwarf in a binary system opens the possibility that some of the envelope material, which was expelled by the WD progenitor, may have been collected by the F6 stars. We may thus be able to study abundance anomalies of the WD progenitor with known mass on the surface of the F6 companions.

Asteroseismology of DAV White Dwarf Stars

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bradley, Paul A.

1997-12-31

The author reviews the seismological structural determinations of ZZ Ceti stars done to date, and supplement these with additional preliminary determinations of his own. He compares the constraints on the hydrogen layer mass to see what trends emerge and also determines if the observed hydrogen layer masses are consistent with proposed theories. He then looks ahead to the prospects of further DAV white dwarf seismology.

Absence of young white dwarf companions to five technetium stars

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Smith, V.V.; Lambert, D.L.

1987-10-01

A search for hot companions to five stars of type MS and S has been carried out using the IUE satellite. No hot companions were detected for the MS stars HR 85, 4647, 6702, and 8062, and the S star HR 8714. Limits on the luminosities of possible white dwarf companions provide lower limits of 2-5x10 to the 8th yr to the ages of any degenerate companions. All five stars exhibit strong Tc I lines, and the presence of technetium, with a half-life of 2.1x10 to the 5th yr, signifies recent nucleosynthesis. The limits on the ages of possible white dwarf companions that are equal to or greater than 1000 half-lives of Tc exclude the possibility that the s-process elemental enhancement seen in these MS and S stars resulted from mass transfer from a more highly evolved companion (as is probably the mechanism by which barium stars are created). These MS and S stars represent a sample of true thermally pulsing asymptotic giant-branch stars. 41 references.

Stars of type MS with evidence of white dwarf companions. [IUE, Main Sequence (MS)

Science.gov (United States)

Peery, Benjamin F., Jr.

1986-01-01

A search for white dwarf companions of MS-type stars was conducted, using IUE. The overendowments of these stars in typical S-process nuclides suggest that they, like the Ba II stars, may owe their peculiar compositions to earlier mass transfer. Short-wavelength IUE spectra show striking emission line variability in HD35155, HD61913, and 4 Ori; HD35155 and 4 Ori show evidence of white dwarf companions.

Supernova SN 2011fe from an exploding carbon-oxygen white dwarf star.

Science.gov (United States)

Nugent, Peter E; Sullivan, Mark; Cenko, S Bradley; Thomas, Rollin C; Kasen, Daniel; Howell, D Andrew; Bersier, David; Bloom, Joshua S; Kulkarni, S R; Kandrashoff, Michael T; Filippenko, Alexei V; Silverman, Jeffrey M; Marcy, Geoffrey W; Howard, Andrew W; Isaacson, Howard T; Maguire, Kate; Suzuki, Nao; Tarlton, James E; Pan, Yen-Chen; Bildsten, Lars; Fulton, Benjamin J; Parrent, Jerod T; Sand, David; Podsiadlowski, Philipp; Bianco, Federica B; Dilday, Benjamin; Graham, Melissa L; Lyman, Joe; James, Phil; Kasliwal, Mansi M; Law, Nicholas M; Quimby, Robert M; Hook, Isobel M; Walker, Emma S; Mazzali, Paolo; Pian, Elena; Ofek, Eran O; Gal-Yam, Avishay; Poznanski, Dovi

2011-12-14

Type Ia supernovae have been used empirically as 'standard candles' to demonstrate the acceleration of the expansion of the Universe even though fundamental details, such as the nature of their progenitor systems and how the stars explode, remain a mystery. There is consensus that a white dwarf star explodes after accreting matter in a binary system, but the secondary body could be anything from a main-sequence star to a red giant, or even another white dwarf. This uncertainty stems from the fact that no recent type Ia supernova has been discovered close enough to Earth to detect the stars before explosion. Here we report early observations of supernova SN 2011fe in the galaxy M101 at a distance from Earth of 6.4 megaparsecs. We find that the exploding star was probably a carbon-oxygen white dwarf, and from the lack of an early shock we conclude that the companion was probably a main-sequence star. Early spectroscopy shows high-velocity oxygen that slows rapidly, on a timescale of hours, and extensive mixing of newly synthesized intermediate-mass elements in the outermost layers of the supernova. A companion paper uses pre-explosion images to rule out luminous red giants and most helium stars as companions to the progenitor.

GD1212: Probing deep into the interior of a pulsating white dwarf star

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Giammichele N.

2015-01-01

Full Text Available We present the first self-consistent seismic analysis of a white dwarf star, GD 1212, in the Kepler2 field. We precisely establish the fundamental parameters of the star using the forward method based on physically sound models. We unravel the internal structure as well as the rotation profile of GD1212 deeper than in any other ZZCeti stars studied so far. This opens up interesting prospects for future analyses of the white dwarf pulsators monitored in the Kepler and Kepler2 fields.

Bose-Einstein condensation in helium white dwarf stars. I

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mosquera, M.E. [Faculty of Astronomy and Geophysics, University of La Plata, Paseo del Bosque s.n., La Plata (Argentina); Department of Physics, University of La Plata, c.c. 67 1900, La Plata (Argentina); Civitarese, O., E-mail: osvaldo.civitarese@fisica.unlp.edu.a [Department of Physics, University of La Plata, c.c. 67 1900, La Plata (Argentina); Benvenuto, O.G.; De Vito, M.A. [Faculty of Astronomy and Geophysics, University of La Plata, Paseo del Bosque s.n., La Plata (Argentina); Instituto de Astrofisica La Plata, CCT (Argentina)

2010-01-18

The formation of a Bose-Einstein condensate in the interior of helium white dwarfs stars is discussed. Following the proposal made by Gabadadze and Rosen, we have explored the consequences of such a mechanism by calculating the cooling time of the stars. We have found that it is shorter than the value predicted by the standard model.

RCB stars from double degenerate white dwarf mergers

Science.gov (United States)

Staff, Jan; Wiggins, Brandon K.; Marcello, Dominic; Motl, Patrick; Clayton, Geoffrey C.

2018-01-01

We have conducted grid based and SPH based hydrodynamic simulations of white dwarf mergers, to investigate the role of dredge-up and mixing during the merger. The goal is to test if sufficiently little 16O can be brought up to the surface to explain the observed 16O to 18O ratio of order unity found in RCB stars. In all simulations, the total mass is ~< 1 M⊙. By initializing both the grid based and the SPH simulations with the same setup, we can compare the results from these different methods. In most of the simulations, more than 0.01 M⊙ of 16O is brought up to the surface. Hence a similar mass of 18O must be produced in order to explain the observed oxygen ratio. However,in SPH simulations where the accretor is a hybrid He/CO white dwarf, much less 16O is brought to the surface, making this an excellent candidate for the progenitor of RCB stars.

Stark Broadening and White Dwarfs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dimitrijević Milan S.

2011-12-01

Full Text Available White dwarf and pre-white dwarfs are the best types of stars for the application of Stark broadening research results in astrophysics, since in the atmospheres of these stars physical conditions are very favorable for this line broadening mechanism - in hot hydrogen-deficient white dwarfs and pre-white dwarfs Teff = 75 000–180 000 K and log g = 5.5–8 [cgs]. Even for much cooler DA and DB white dwarfs with the typical effective temperatures 10 000-20 000 K, Stark broadening is usually the dominant broadening mechanism. In this review, Stark broadening in white dwarf spectra is considered, and the attention is drawn to the STARK-B database (http://stark-b.obspm.fr/, containing the parameters needed for analysis and synthesis of white dwarf spectra, as well as for the collective efforts to develop the Virtual Atomic and Molecular Data Center.

Neutron star formation in theoretical supernovae. Low mass stars and white dwarfs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nomoto, K.

1986-01-01

The presupernova evolution of stars that form semi-degenerate or strongly degenerate O + Ne + Mg cores is discussed. For the 10 to 13 Msub solar stars, behavior of off-center neon flashes is crucial. The 8 to 10 m/sub solar stars do not ignite neon and eventually collapse due to electron captures. Properties of supernova explosions and neutron stars expected from these low mass progenitors are compared with the Crab nebula. The conditions for which neutron stars form from accretion-induced collapse of white dwarfs in clsoe binary systems is also examined

Pulsations in white dwarf stars

OpenAIRE

Van Grootel, Valérie; Fontaine, Gilles; Brassard, Pierre; Dupret, Marc-Antoine

2017-01-01

I will present a description of the six distinct families of pulsating white dwarfs that are currently known. Pulsations are present at various stages of the evolution (from hot, pre-white dwarfs to cool white dwarfs), at various stellar masses, and for various atmospheric compositions. In all of them, a mechanism linked to opacity changes along the evolution drives the oscillations. The existence of these oscillations offers the opportunity to apply asteroseismology for constraining physics ...

Relativistic deflection of background starlight measures the mass of a nearby white dwarf star.

Science.gov (United States)

Sahu, Kailash C; Anderson, Jay; Casertano, Stefano; Bond, Howard E; Bergeron, Pierre; Nelan, Edmund P; Pueyo, Laurent; Brown, Thomas M; Bellini, Andrea; Levay, Zoltan G; Sokol, Joshua; Dominik, Martin; Calamida, Annalisa; Kains, Noé; Livio, Mario

2017-06-09

Gravitational deflection of starlight around the Sun during the 1919 total solar eclipse provided measurements that confirmed Einstein's general theory of relativity. We have used the Hubble Space Telescope to measure the analogous process of astrometric microlensing caused by a nearby star, the white dwarf Stein 2051 B. As Stein 2051 B passed closely in front of a background star, the background star's position was deflected. Measurement of this deflection at multiple epochs allowed us to determine the mass of Stein 2051 B-the sixth-nearest white dwarf to the Sun-as 0.675 ± 0.051 solar masses. This mass determination provides confirmation of the physics of degenerate matter and lends support to white dwarf evolutionary theory. Copyright © 2017, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Searching for benchmark systems containing ultra-cool dwarfs and white dwarfs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pinfield D.J.

2013-04-01

Full Text Available We have used the 2MASS all-sky survey and WISE to look for ultracool dwarfs that are part of multiple systems containing main sequence stars. We cross-matched L dwarf candidates from the surveys with Hipparcos and Gliese stars, finding two new systems. We consider the binary fraction for L dwarfs and main sequence stars, and further assess possible unresolved multiplicity within the full companion sample. This analysis shows that some of the L dwarfs in this sample might actually be unresolved binaries themselves. We have also identified a sample of common proper motion systems in which a main sequence star has a white dwarf as wide companion. These systems can help explore key issues in star evolution theory, as the initial-final mass relationship of white dwarfs, or the chromospheric activity-age relationship for stars still in the main sequence. Spectroscopy for 50 white dwarf candidates, selected from the SuperCOSMOS Science Archive, was obtained. We have also observed 6 of the main sequence star companions, and have estimated their effective temperatures, rotational and microturbulent velocities and metallicities.

Two new pulsating low-mass pre-white dwarfs or SX Phoenicis stars?

Science.gov (United States)

Corti, M. A.; Kanaan, A.; Córsico, A. H.; Kepler, S. O.; Althaus, L. G.; Koester, D.; Sánchez Arias, J. P.

2016-03-01

Context. The discovery of pulsations in low-mass stars opens an opportunity to probe their interiors and determine their evolution by employing the tools of asteroseismology. Aims: We aim to analyse high-speed photometry of SDSS J145847.02+070754.46 and SDSS J173001.94+070600.25 and discover brightness variabilities. In order to locate these stars in the Teff - log g diagram, we fit optical spectra (SDSS) with synthetic non-magnetic spectra derived from model atmospheres. Methods: To carry out this study, we used the photometric data we obtained for these stars with the 2.15 m telescope at CASLEO, Argentina. We analysed their light curves and applied the discrete Fourier transform (FT) to determine the pulsation frequencies. Finally, we compare both stars in the Teff - log g diagram, with two known pre-white dwarfs and seven pulsating pre-ELM white dwarf stars, δ Scuti, and SX Phe stars Results: We report the discovery of pulsations in SDSS J145847.02+070754.46 and SDSS J173001.94+070600.25. We determine their effective temperature and surface gravity to be Teff = 7972 ± 200 K, log g = 4.25 ± 0.5 and Teff = 7925 ± 200 K, log g = 4.25 ± 0.5, respectively. With these parameters, these new pulsating low-mass stars can be identified with either ELM white dwarfs (with ~0.17 M⊙) or more massive SX Phe stars. We identified pulsation periods of 3278.7 and 1633.9 s for SDSS J145847.02+070754.46 and a pulsation period of 3367.1 s for SDSS J173001.94+070600.25. These two new objects, together with those of Maxted et al. (2013, 2014), indicate the possible existence of a new instability domain towards the late stages of evolution of low-mass white dwarf stars, although their identification with SX Phe stars cannot be discarded. Visiting Astronomer, Complejo Astronómico El Leoncito operated under agreement between the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas de la República Argentina and the National Universities of La Plata, Córdoba, and San Juan.

Lessons for Asteroseismology from White Dwarf Stars

OpenAIRE

Metcalfe, Travis S.

2005-01-01

The interpretation of pulsation data for Sun-like stars is currently facing challenges quite similar to those faced by white dwarf modelers ten years ago. The observational requirements for uninterrupted long-term monitoring are beginning to be satisfied by successful multi-site campaigns and dedicated satellite missions. But exploration of the most important physical parameters in theoretical models has been fairly limited, making it difficult to establish a detailed best-fit model for a par...

On the absence of young white dwarf companions to five technetium stars

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Verne V.; Lambert, David L.

1987-01-01

A search for hot companions to five stars of type MS and S has been carried out using the IUE satellite. No hot companions were detected for the MS stars HR 85, 4647, 6702, and 8062, and the S star HR 8714. Limits on the luminosities of possible white dwarf companions provide lower limits of 2-5x10 to the 8th yr to the ages of any degenerate companions. All five stars exhibit strong Tc I lines, and the presence of technetium, with a half-life of 2.1x10 to the 5th yr, signifies recent nucleosynthesis. The limits on the ages of possible white dwarf companions that are equal to or greater than 1000 half-lives of Tc exclude the possibility that the s-process elemental enhancement seen in these MS and S stars resulted from mass transfer from a more highly evolved companion (as is probably the mechanism by which barium stars are created). These MS and S stars represent a sample of true thermally pulsing asymptotic giant-branch stars.

Diffusion of neon in white dwarf stars.

Science.gov (United States)

Hughto, J; Schneider, A S; Horowitz, C J; Berry, D K

2010-12-01

Sedimentation of the neutron rich isotope 22Ne may be an important source of gravitational energy during the cooling of white dwarf stars. This depends on the diffusion constant for 22Ne in strongly coupled plasma mixtures. We calculate self-diffusion constants D(i) from molecular dynamics simulations of carbon, oxygen, and neon mixtures. We find that D(i) in a mixture does not differ greatly from earlier one component plasma results. For strong coupling (coulomb parameter Γ> few), D(i) has a modest dependence on the charge Z(i) of the ion species, D(i)∝Z(i)(-2/3). However, D(i) depends more strongly on Z(i) for weak coupling (smaller Γ). We conclude that the self-diffusion constant D(Ne) for 22Ne in carbon, oxygen, and neon plasma mixtures is accurately known so that uncertainties in D(Ne) should be unimportant for simulations of white dwarf cooling.

On the Number of Comets Around White Dwarf Stars: Orbit Survival During the Late Stages of Stellar Evolution

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Parriott, J. [Department of Astronomy, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (United States); Alcock, C. [Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94550 (United States)

1998-07-01

The accretion of comets onto DA white dwarfs can produce observable metal absorption lines. We show here that comet systems around the progenitor main-sequence star are vulnerable to being lost during asymptotic giant branch mass loss, if the mass loss is sufficiently asymmetric to impart modest linear momentum to the white dwarf. This may have bearing on the frequency of observation of heavy elements in white dwarf stars and on inferences regarding the frequency of comet systems, if the imparted linear velocities of white dwarfs can be estimated. {copyright} {ital {copyright} 1998.} {ital The American Astronomical Society}

Progenitors of white dwarfs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Drilling, J.S.; Schoenberner, D.

1985-01-01

Direct observational evidence is presented which indicates that the immediate progenitors of white dwarfs are the central stars of planetary nebulae (approximately 70%), other post-AGB objects (approximately 30%), and post-HB objects not massive enough to climb the AGB (approximately 0.3%). The combined birth rate for these objects is in satisfactory agreement with the death rate of main-sequence stars and the birth rate of white dwarfs

Double white dwarfs as progenitors of R coronae borealis stars and type I supernovae

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Webbink, R.F.

1984-01-01

Close double white dwarfs should arise from the second phase of mass exchagne in close binaries which first encountered mass exchange while the more massive star was crossing the Hertzprung gap. Tidal mass transfer in these double degenerate systems is explored. The sequence of double white dwarf divides naturally into three segments. (1) Low-mass helium/helium pairs are unstable to dynamical time-scale mass transfer and probably coalesce to form helium-burning sdO stars. (2) In helium/carbon-oxygen pairs, mass transfer occurs on the time scale for gravitational radiation losses (approx.10 -4 M/sub sun/ yr -1 ); the accreted helium is quickly ignited, and the accretor expands to dimensions characteristic of R CrB stars, engulfing its companion star. (3) Carbon-oxygen/carbon-oxygen pairs are again unstable to dynamical time-scale mass transfer and, since their total masses exceed the Chandrasekhar limit, are destined to become supernovae. Inactive lifetimes in these latter systems between creation and interaction can exceed 10 10 years. Birthrates of R CrB stars and Type I supernovae by evolution of double white dwarfs are in reasonable agreement with observational estimates

Lessons for Asteroseismology from White Dwarf Stars Travis S ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

are evenly spaced, but chemical stratification and variations in other relevant physical ... In white dwarf models, the mean period spacing is related to the total stellar mass, .... estimate the mean density of the star (see Kjeldsen et al. 1995 ... in any stellar population (the Galactic disk and halo, open and globular clusters) to.

Rapid Evolution of the Gaseous Exoplanetary Debris Around the White Dwarf Star HE 1349--2305

OpenAIRE

Dennihy, E.; Clemens, J. C.; Dunlap, B. H.; Fanale, S. M.; Fuchs, J. T.; Hermes, J. J.

2018-01-01

Observations of heavy metal pollution in white dwarf stars indicate that metal-rich planetesimals are frequently scattered into star-grazing orbits, tidally disrupted, and accreted onto the white dwarf surface, offering direct insight into the dynamical evolution of post-main-sequence exoplanetary systems. Emission lines from the gaseous debris in the accretion disks of some of these systems show variations on timescales of decades, and have been interpreted as the general relativistic preces...

Axion cooling of white dwarfs

OpenAIRE

Isern, J.; Catalan, S.; Garcia--Berro, E.; Salaris, M.; Torres, S.

2013-01-01

The evolution of white dwarfs is a simple gravothermal process. This process can be tested in two ways, through the luminosity function of these stars and through the secular variation of the period of pulsation of those stars that are variable. Here we show how the mass of the axion can be constrained using the white dwarf luminosity function.

Compact Objects in Astrophysics White Dwarfs, Neutron Stars and Black Holes

CERN Document Server

Camenzind, Max

2007-01-01

Compact objects are an important class of astronomical objects in current research. Supermassive black holes play an important role in the understanding of the formation of galaxies in the early Universe. Old white dwarfs are nowadays used to calibrate the age of the Universe. Mergers of neutron stars and black holes are the sources of intense gravitational waves which will be measured in the next ten years by gravitational wave detectors. Camenzind's Compact Objects in Astrophysics gives a comprehensive introduction and up-to-date overview about the physical processes behind these objects, covering the field from the beginning to most recent results, including all relevant observations. After a presentation of the taxonomy of compact objects, the basic principles of general relativity are given. The author then discusses in detail the physics and observations of white dwarfs and neutron stars (including the most recent equations of state for neutron star matter), the gravitational field of rapidly rotating c...

What fraction of white dwarfs are members of binary systems?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Holberg, J B

2009-01-01

White dwarfs were originally discovered as the subordinate faint companions of bright nearby stars (i.e. Sirius B and 40 Eri B). Several general categories of binary systems involving white dwarfs are recognized: Sirius-like systems, where the white dwarf may be difficult to detect, binary systems containing white dwarfs and low mass stars, where the white dwarf is often readily discerned; and double degenerate systems. Different modes of white dwarf discovery influence our perception of both the overall binary fraction and the nature of these systems; proper motion surveys emphasize resolved systems, while photometric surveys emphasize unresolved systems containing relatively hot white dwarfs. Recent studies of the local white dwarf population offer some hope of achieving realistic estimates of the relative number of binary systems containing white dwarfs. A sample of 132 white dwarfs within 20 pc indicates that an individual white dwarf has a probability of 32 ± 8% of occurring within a binary or multiple star system.

Maximum gravitational redshift of white dwarfs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shapiro, S.L.; Teukolsky, S.A.

1976-01-01

The stability of uniformly rotating, cold white dwarfs is examined in the framework of the Parametrized Post-Newtonian (PPN) formalism of Will and Nordtvedt. The maximum central density and gravitational redshift of a white dwarf are determined as functions of five of the nine PPN parameters (γ, β, zeta 2 , zeta 3 , and zeta 4 ), the total angular momentum J, and the composition of the star. General relativity predicts that the maximum redshifts is 571 km s -1 for nonrotating carbon and helium dwarfs, but is lower for stars composed of heavier nuclei. Uniform rotation can increase the maximum redshift to 647 km s -1 for carbon stars (the neutronization limit) and to 893 km s -1 for helium stars (the uniform rotation limit). The redshift distribution of a larger sample of white dwarfs may help determine the composition of their cores

White dwarf stars as strange quark matter detectors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Benvenuto, O G [Departamento de AstronomIa y AstroFisica, Pontificia Universidad Catolica, Vicuna Mackenna 4860, Casilla 306, Santiago (Chile); Facultad de Ciencias Astronomicas y GeoFisicas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Paseo del Bosque S/N, B1900FWA, La Plata (Argentina)

2005-11-01

We show that the presence of a strange matter core inside a white dwarf (WD) star produces a drastic change in the spectrum of non-radial oscillations in the range of periods corresponding to gravity modes. The distinctive, observable signal for such a core is a very short period spacing between consecutive modes, far shorter than in the case of pulsating WDs without any compact core. (letter to the editor)

THE LINK BETWEEN PLANETARY SYSTEMS, DUSTY WHITE DWARFS, AND METAL-POLLUTED WHITE DWARFS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Debes, John H.; Walsh, Kevin J.; Stark, Christopher

2012-01-01

It has long been suspected that metal-polluted white dwarfs (types DAZ, DBZ, and DZ) and white dwarfs with dusty disks possess planetary systems, but a specific physical mechanism by which planetesimals are perturbed close to a white dwarf has not yet been fully posited. In this paper, we demonstrate that mass loss from a central star during post-main-sequence evolution can sweep planetesimals into interior mean motion resonances with a single giant planet. These planetesimals are slowly removed through chaotic excursions of eccentricity that in time create radial orbits capable of tidally disrupting the planetesimal. Numerical N-body simulations of the solar system show that a sufficient number of planetesimals are perturbed to explain white dwarfs with both dust and metal pollution, provided other white dwarfs have more massive relic asteroid belts. Our scenario requires only one Jupiter-sized planet and a sufficient number of asteroids near its 2:1 interior mean motion resonance. Finally, we show that once a planetesimal is perturbed into a tidal crossing orbit, it will become disrupted after the first pass of the white dwarf, where a highly eccentric stream of debris forms the main reservoir for dust-producing collisions. These simulations, in concert with observations of white dwarfs, place interesting limits on the frequency of planetary systems around main-sequence stars, the frequency of planetesimal belts, and the probability that dust may obscure future terrestrial planet finding missions.

Explosive helium burning in white dwarf stars

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Khokhlov, A.M. (AN SSSR, Moscow. Astronomicheskij Sovet)

1984-04-01

Helium burning kinetics in white dwarfs has been considered at constant temperatures T >= 10/sup 9/ K and densities rho >10/sup 5/ g/cm/sup 3/. It is found, that helium detonation in white dwarfs does not lead to formation of light (A < 56) elements. Thus, helium white dwarf model for supernova 1 is inconsistent with observations.

White dwarf models of supernovae and cataclysmic variables

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nomoto, K.; Hashimoto, M.

1986-01-01

If the accreting white dwarf increases its mass to the Chandrasekhar mass, it will either explode as a Type I supernova or collapse to form a neutron star. In fact, there is a good agreement between the exploding white dwarf model for Type I supernovae and observations. We describe various types of evolution of accreting white dwarfs as a function of binary parameters (i.e,. composition, mass, and age of the white dwarf, its companion star, and mass accretion rate), and discuss the conditions for the precursors of exploding or collapsing white dwarfs, and their relevance to cataclysmic variables. Particular attention is given to helium star cataclysmics which might be the precursors of some Type I supernovae or ultrashort period x-ray binaries. Finally we present new evolutionary calculations using the updated nuclear reaction rates for the formation of O+Ne+Mg white dwarfs, and discuss the composition structure and their relevance to the model for neon novae. 61 refs., 14 figs

White dwarf stars: cosmic chronometers and dark matter probes

Science.gov (United States)

Salaris, Maurizio; Cassisi, Santi

2018-04-01

White dwarfs (WD) are the endpoint of the evolution of the large majority of stars formed in our galaxy. In the last two decades observations and theory have improved to a level that makes it possible to employ WD for determining ages of the stellar populations in the disk of the Milky Way and in the nearest star clusters, and constrain the existence and properties of dark matter (DM) candidates. This review is centred on WD models, age-dating, and DM identification methods, recent results and future developments of the field.

White dwarf evolution - Cradle-to-grave constraints via pulsation

Science.gov (United States)

Kawaler, Steven D.

1990-01-01

White dwarf evolution, particularly in the early phases, is not very strongly constrained by observation. Fortunately, white dwarfs undergo nonradial pulsation in three distinct regions of the H-R diagram. These pulsations provide accurate masses, surface compositional structure and rotation velocities, and help constrain other important physical properties. We demonstrate the application of the tools of stellar seismology to white dwarf evolution using the hot white dwarf star PG 1159-035 and the cool DAV (or ZZ Ceti) stars as examples. From pulsation studies, significant challenges to the theory of white dwarf evolution emerge.

Black holes, white dwarfs and neutron stars: The physics of compact objects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shapiro, S.L.; Teukolsky, S.A.

1983-01-01

The contents include: Star deaths and the formation of compact objects; White dwarfs; Rotation and magnetic fields; Cold equation of state above neutron drip; Pulsars; Accretion onto black holes; Supermassive stars and black holes; Appendices; and Indexes. This book discusses one aspect, compact objects, of astronomy and provides information of astrophysics or general relativity

Comparing the asteroseismic properties of pulsating extremely low-mass pre-white dwarf stars and δ Scuti stars

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arias J.P.Sánchez

2017-01-01

Full Text Available We present the first results of a detailed comparison between the pulsation properties of pulsating Extremely Low-Mass pre-white dwarf stars (the pre-ELMV variable stars and δ Scuti stars. The instability domains of these very different kinds of stars nearly overlap in the log Teff vs. log g diagram, leading to a degeneracy in the classification of the stars. Our aim is to provide asteroseismic tools for their correct classification.

Compact objects for everyone: I. White dwarf stars

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jackson, C B; Taruna, J; Pouliot, S L; Ellison, B W; Lee, D D; Piekarewicz, J [Department of Physics, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306 (United States)

2005-09-01

Based upon previous discussions on the structure of compact stars geared towards undergraduate physics students, a real experiment involving two upper-level undergraduate physics students, a beginning physics graduate and two advanced graduate students was conducted. A recent addition to the physics curriculum at Florida State University, The Physics of Stars, sparked quite a few students' interests in the subject matter involving stellar structure. This, coupled with Stars and statistical physics by Balian and Blaizot (1999 Am. J. Phys. 67 1189) and Neutron stars for undergraduates by Silbar and Reddy (2004 Am. J. Phys. 72 892), is the cornerstone of this small research group who tackled solving the structure equations for compact objects in the summer of 2004. Through the use of a simple finite-difference algorithm coupled to Microsoft Excel and Maple, solutions to the equations for stellar structure are presented in the Newtonian regime appropriate to the physics of white dwarf stars.

Compact objects for everyone: I. White dwarf stars

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jackson, C B; Taruna, J; Pouliot, S L; Ellison, B W; Lee, D D; Piekarewicz, J

2005-01-01

Based upon previous discussions on the structure of compact stars geared towards undergraduate physics students, a real experiment involving two upper-level undergraduate physics students, a beginning physics graduate and two advanced graduate students was conducted. A recent addition to the physics curriculum at Florida State University, The Physics of Stars, sparked quite a few students' interests in the subject matter involving stellar structure. This, coupled with Stars and statistical physics by Balian and Blaizot (1999 Am. J. Phys. 67 1189) and Neutron stars for undergraduates by Silbar and Reddy (2004 Am. J. Phys. 72 892), is the cornerstone of this small research group who tackled solving the structure equations for compact objects in the summer of 2004. Through the use of a simple finite-difference algorithm coupled to Microsoft Excel and Maple, solutions to the equations for stellar structure are presented in the Newtonian regime appropriate to the physics of white dwarf stars

White dwarf planets

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bonsor Amy

2013-04-01

Full Text Available The recognition that planets may survive the late stages of stellar evolution, and the prospects for finding them around White Dwarfs, are growing. We discuss two aspects governing planetary survival through stellar evolution to the White Dwarf stage. First we discuss the case of a single planet, and its survival under the effects of stellar mass loss, radius expansion, and tidal orbital decay as the star evolves along the Asymptotic Giant Branch. We show that, for stars initially of 1 − 5 M⊙, any planets within about 1 − 5 AU will be engulfed, this distance depending on the stellar and planet masses and the planet's eccentricity. Planets engulfed by the star's envelope are unlikely to survive. Hence, planets surviving the Asymptotic Giant Branch phase will probably be found beyond ∼ 2 AU for a 1  M⊙ progenitor and ∼ 10 AU for a 5 M⊙ progenitor. We then discuss the evolution of two-planet systems around evolving stars. As stars lose mass, planet–planet interactions become stronger, and many systems stable on the Main Sequence become destabilised following evolution of the primary. The outcome of such instabilities is typically the ejection of one planet, with the survivor being left on an eccentric orbit. These eccentric planets could in turn be responsible for feeding planetesimals into the neighbourhood of White Dwarfs, causing observed pollution and circumstellar discs.

White dwarf evolution - Cradle-to-grave constraints via pulsation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kawaler, S.D.

1990-01-01

White dwarf evolution, particularly in the early phases, is not very strongly constrained by observation. Fortunately, white dwarfs undergo nonradial pulsation in three distinct regions of the H-R diagram. These pulsations provide accurate masses, surface compositional structure and rotation velocities, and help constrain other important physical properties. We demonstrate the application of the tools of stellar seismology to white dwarf evolution using the hot white dwarf star PG 1159-035 and the cool DAV (or ZZ Ceti) stars as examples. From pulsation studies, significant challenges to the theory of white dwarf evolution emerge. 44 refs

Doubling the number of pulsating DB white dwarfs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nitta, Atsuko; Kleinman, S J; Krzenski, J; Kepler, S O; Metcalfe, T S; Mukadam, Anjum S; Mullally, F; Nather, R E; Winget, D E; Sullivan, D; Thompson, Susan E

2009-01-01

We are searching for new pulsating DB white dwarf stars (DBVs) based on the newly found white dwarf stars from the spectra obtained by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. DBVs pulsate at hotter temperature ranges than their better known cousins, DAVs or ZZ Ceti stars. Since the evolution of white dwarf stars is characterized by cooling, asteroseismological studies of DBVs give us opportunities to study white dwarf structure at a different evolutionary stage than the DAVs. The hottest DBVs are thought to have neutrino luminosities exceeding their photon luminosities (Winget et al. 2004), a quantity measurable through asteroseismology. Therefore, they can also be used to study neutrino physics in the stellar interior. At the time of the meeting, we reported on the nine new DBVs, doubling the number of previously known DBVs. Here we report the new nine pulsators' lightcurves and power spectra.

White dwarfs - the once and future suns

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Trimble, V.

1986-01-01

The history and properties of white dwarfs (Bessel's conclusion that Sirius and Procyon have invisible companions, Clark's discovery of Sirius B, Adams and Russell's study of white dwarf spectra, Chandrasekhar's explanation of white dwarf structure by equations incorporating quantum mechanics and relativity) are treated. Formation of white dwarfs, degeneracy, binary white dwarfs (and novae and supernovae) are explained. A mystery nearly 50 years old regarding the spectrum of the star Greenwich +70 degrees-8247 has been solved: it involves a stationary line phenomenon and a magnetic field of 300-500 million gauss. Processes being studied in white dwarfs and white dwarf models include gravitational settling, accretion, dredge-up, radiation pressure, and diffusive hydrogen burning

A DEEPLY ECLIPSING DETACHED DOUBLE HELIUM WHITE DWARF BINARY

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parsons, S. G.; Marsh, T. R.; Gaensicke, B. T.; Drake, A. J.; Koester, D.

2011-01-01

Using Liverpool Telescope+RISE photometry we identify the 2.78 hr period binary star CSS 41177 as a detached eclipsing double white dwarf binary with a 21,100 K primary star and a 10,500 K secondary star. This makes CSS 41177 only the second known eclipsing double white dwarf binary after NLTT 11748. The 2 minute long primary eclipse is 40% deep and the secondary eclipse 10% deep. From Gemini+GMOS spectroscopy, we measure the radial velocities of both components of the binary from the Hα absorption line cores. These measurements, combined with the light curve information, yield white dwarf masses of M 1 = 0.283 ± 0.064 M sun and M 2 = 0.274 ± 0.034 M sun , making them both helium core white dwarfs. As an eclipsing, double-lined spectroscopic binary, CSS 41177 is ideally suited to measuring precise, model-independent masses and radii. The two white dwarfs will merge in roughly 1.1 Gyr to form a single sdB star.

WHITE DWARF/M DWARF BINARIES AS SINGLE DEGENERATE PROGENITORS OF TYPE Ia SUPERNOVAE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wheeler, J. Craig

2012-01-01

Limits on the companions of white dwarfs in the single-degenerate scenario for the origin of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) have gotten increasingly tight, yet igniting a nearly Chandrasekhar mass C/O white dwarf from a condition of near hydrostatic equilibrium provides compelling agreement with observed spectral evolution. The only type of non-degenerate stars that survive the tight limits, M V ∼> 8.4 on the SN Ia in SNR 0509-67.5 and M V ∼> 9.5 in the remnant of SN 1572, are M dwarfs. While M dwarfs are observed in cataclysmic variables, they have special properties that have not been considered in most work on the progenitors of SNe Ia: they have small but finite magnetic fields and they flare frequently. These properties are explored in the context of SN Ia progenitors. White dwarf/M dwarf pairs may be sufficiently plentiful to provide, in principle, an adequate rate of explosions even with slow orbital evolution due to magnetic braking or gravitational radiation. Even modest magnetic fields on the white dwarf and M dwarf will yield adequate torques to lock the two stars together, resulting in a slowly rotating white dwarf, with the magnetic poles pointing at one another in the orbital plane. The mass loss will be channeled by a 'magnetic bottle' connecting the two stars, landing on a concentrated polar area on the white dwarf. This enhances the effective rate of accretion compared to spherical accretion. Luminosity from accretion and hydrogen burning on the surface of the white dwarf may induce self-excited mass transfer. The combined effects of self-excited mass loss, polar accretion, and magnetic inhibition of mixing of accretion layers give possible means to beat the 'nova limit' and grow the white dwarf to the Chandrasekhar mass even at rather moderate mass accretion rates.

Branes constrictions with White Dwarfs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

García-Aspeitia, Miguel A.

2015-01-01

We consider here a robust study of stellar dynamics for white dwarf stars with polytropic matter in the weak-field approximation using the Lane–Emden equation from the brane-world scenario. We also derive an analytical solution to the nonlocal energy density and show the behavior and sensitivity of these stars to the presence of extra dimensions. Similarly, we analyze stability and compactness, in order to show whether it is possible to agree with the conventional wisdom of white dwarfs dynamics. Our results predict an average value of the brane tension of <λ>≳84.818 MeV 4 , with a standard deviation σ≃82.021 MeV 4 , which comes from a sample of dwarf stars, being weaker than other astrophysical observations but remaining higher than cosmological results provided by nucleosynthesis among others

Collapse of white dwarfs in low mass binary systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Isern, J.; Canal, R.; Garcia-Berro, E.; Hernanz, M.; Labay, J.

1987-01-01

Low-mass binary X-ray sources and cataclysmic variables are composed of a compact star plus a non-degenerate star with a mass of the order of 1 M sun . In the first case, the degenerate star is a neutron star. In the second case, the star is a white dwarf. The similarities of both systems are so high that it is worthwhile to look for the possibility of obtaining a neutron star from the collapse of a white dwarf that accretes matter. The present work shows that massive, initially cold white dwarfs can collapse non-explosively if they accrete mass at a rate greater than 1.0E-7 M sun per year. (Author)

A possible magnetic DA white dwarf

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wickramasinghe, D.T.; Bessell, M.S.

1976-01-01

The spectrum of a peculiar southern white dwarf suspect BPM 25114 is described. A possible magnetic interpretation suggests a DA white dwarf with a field of about 10 7 gauss. The star appears to be both a spectrum variable and perhaps light variable

Branes constrictions with White Dwarfs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

García-Aspeitia, Miguel A., E-mail: aspeitia@fisica.uaz.edu.mx [Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología, Av, Insurgentes Sur 1582, Colonia Crédito Constructor, Del. Benito Juárez, C.P. 03940, Mexico, D.F. (Mexico); Unidad Académica de Física, Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas, Calzada Solidaridad esquina con Paseo a la Bufa S/N, C.P. 98060, Zacatecas (Mexico)

2015-11-06

We consider here a robust study of stellar dynamics for white dwarf stars with polytropic matter in the weak-field approximation using the Lane–Emden equation from the brane-world scenario. We also derive an analytical solution to the nonlocal energy density and show the behavior and sensitivity of these stars to the presence of extra dimensions. Similarly, we analyze stability and compactness, in order to show whether it is possible to agree with the conventional wisdom of white dwarfs dynamics. Our results predict an average value of the brane tension of <λ>≳84.818 MeV{sup 4}, with a standard deviation σ≃82.021 MeV{sup 4}, which comes from a sample of dwarf stars, being weaker than other astrophysical observations but remaining higher than cosmological results provided by nucleosynthesis among others.

Branes constrictions with White Dwarfs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Garcia-Aspeitia, Miguel A. [Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia, Mexico (Mexico); Unidad Academica de Fisica, Universidad Autonoma de Zacatecas (Mexico)

2015-11-15

We consider here a robust study of stellar dynamics for white dwarf stars with polytropic matter in the weak-field approximation using the Lane-Emden equation from the brane-world scenario. We also derive an analytical solution to the nonlocal energy density and show the behavior and sensitivity of these stars to the presence of extra dimensions. Similarly, we analyze stability and compactness, in order to show whether it is possible to agree with the conventional wisdom of white dwarfs dynamics. Our results predict an average value of the brane tension of left angle λ right angle >or similar 84.818 MeV{sup 4}, with a standard deviation σ ≅ 82.021 MeV{sup 4}, which comes from a sample of dwarf stars, being weaker than other astrophysical observations but remaining higher than cosmological results provided by nucleosynthesis among others. (orig.)

Possible new class of dense white dwarfs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Glendenning, N.K.; Kettner, C.; Weber, F.

1995-01-01

If the strange quark matter hypothesis is true, then a new class of white dwarfs can exist whose nuclear material in their deep interiors can have a density as high as the neutron drip density, a few hundred times the density in maximum-mass white dwarfs and 4x10 4 the density in dwarfs of mass, M∼0.6 M circle-dot . Their masses fall in the approximate range 10 -4 to 1 M circle-dot . They are stable against acoustical modes of vibration. A strange quark core stabilizes these stars, which otherwise would have central densities that would place them in the unstable region of the sequence between white dwarfs and neutron stars. copyright 1995 American Institute of Physics

Mass-Accretion effects on white dwarf interiors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Canal, R.; Hernanz, M.; Isern, J.; Labay, J.; Mochkovitch, R.

1986-01-01

There is observational evidence of the presence of young neutron stars in old binary systems. A likely explanation is that those neutron stars were produced in the collapse of old C+O white dwarfs. Old white dwarfs being cold and at least partially solid, accretion-induced mass growth should finally lead in a number of cases, to their collapse rather than to their explosion. We show in detail how mass accretion on initially solid white dwarfs can leave central solid cores when dynamical instability sets in. We also study the different effects of the existence of such cores on the outcome of the competition between thermonuclear explosion and gravitational collapse

The DB gap and a new class of pulsating white dwarfs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shibahashi H.

2013-03-01

Full Text Available The recent systematic surveys providing enormously massive datasets of white dwarfs show that there is still a deficit of a factor of 2.5 in the DA/non-DA ratio within the temperature range of 30 000 K < Teff < 45 000 K, which has been regarded as the “DB gap” meaning a range with almost no helium atmosphere white dwarfs. Since all white dwarfs have to evolve through this temperature range along almost the identical sequence on the color-magnitude diagram, this implies that most of the helium atmosphere DO stars once evolve into hydrogen atmosphere hot DA stars in the temperature range of the DB gap and then back to helium atmosphere DB stars. Possible scenarios for this chameleon-like disguises of white dwarfs with helium dominant atmospheres are described and a new class of pulsating white dwarfs, named the hot-DAV stars, is predicted from these scenarios. One pulsating DA white dwarf, being consistent with the prediction, has been discovered indeed.

Infrared photometry of cool white dwarfs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wickramasinghe, D.T.; Allen, D.A.; Bessell, M.S.

1982-01-01

The results are presented of a search for the effects of pressure induced H 2 dipole opacity on the infrared JHK magnitudes of cool white dwarfs. LHS 1126 is found to be a very cool (Tsub(e) approximately 4250 K) DC white dwarf with a H rich atmospheric composition dominated by H 2 dipole opacity in the infrared. JHK photometry also favours a H rich atmospheric composition for the DK white dwarfs LP 658-2 and W 489. The surprisingly high proportion of hydrogen rich white dwarfs in the sample appears to suggest that the mechanism which inhibits the accretion of hydrogen in the hotter helium stars becomes less effective at low (Tsub(e) approximately 3 + ion in cool hydrogen rich white dwarf atmospheres is pointed out and it is suggested that the opacity due to this ion may be responsible for the blanketing observed in the U and B magnitudes of some cool white dwarfs. (author)

Topics in white dwarf astrophysics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hintzen, P.M.N.

1975-01-01

This study was designed to investigate the apparent deficiency, compared to theoretical predictions, of cool degenerate stars. Two approaches to the problem were employed: a spectroscopic survey designed to identify red degenerates, and a model atmospheres study of the spectroscopic and photometric differences between red dwarfs and red degenerate stars. On computed atmospheric models for white dwarfs at the temperatures under investigation. Line profiles obtained from these models indicate that degenerate stars with T/sub e/ approximately 6000 0 K and depleted surface metals would be extremely difficult to identify spectroscopically. Their hydrogen and calcium line profiles would strongly resemble those of classical sub-dwarfs. Three apparently degenerate stars whose spectral features match our predictions have been identified. These results indicate that the existence of the previously postulated deficiency of red degenerate stars is uncertain

HUBBLE PINPOINTS WHITE DWARFS IN GLOBULAR CLUSTER

Science.gov (United States)

2002-01-01

Peering deep inside a cluster of several hundred thousand stars, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope uncovered the oldest burned-out stars in our Milky Way Galaxy. Located in the globular cluster M4, these small, dying stars - called white dwarfs - are giving astronomers a fresh reading on one of the biggest questions in astronomy: How old is the universe? The ancient white dwarfs in M4 are about 12 to 13 billion years old. After accounting for the time it took the cluster to form after the big bang, astronomers found that the age of the white dwarfs agrees with previous estimates for the universe's age. In the top panel, a ground-based observatory snapped a panoramic view of the entire cluster, which contains several hundred thousand stars within a volume of 10 to 30 light-years across. The Kitt Peak National Observatory's 0.9-meter telescope took this picture in March 1995. The box at left indicates the region observed by the Hubble telescope. The Hubble telescope studied a small region of the cluster. A section of that region is seen in the picture at bottom left. A sampling of an even smaller region is shown at bottom right. This region is only about one light-year across. In this smaller region, Hubble pinpointed a number of faint white dwarfs. The blue circles pinpoint the dwarfs. It took nearly eight days of exposure time over a 67-day period to find these extremely faint stars. Globular clusters are among the oldest clusters of stars in the universe. The faintest and coolest white dwarfs within globular clusters can yield a globular cluster's age. Earlier Hubble observations showed that the first stars formed less than 1 billion years after the universe's birth in the big bang. So, finding the oldest stars puts astronomers within arm's reach of the universe's age. M4 is 7,000 light-years away in the constellation Scorpius. Hubble's Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 made the observations from January through April 2001. These optical observations were combined to

White dwarf stars exceeding the Chandrasekhar mass limit

Science.gov (United States)

Tomaschitz, Roman

2018-01-01

The effect of nonlinear ultra-relativistic electron dispersion on the mass-radius relation of high-mass white dwarfs is studied. The dispersion is described by a permeability tensor in the Dirac equation, generated by the ionized high-density stellar matter, which constitutes the neutralizing background of the nearly degenerate electron plasma. The electron dispersion results in a stable mass-radius relation for high-mass white dwarfs, in contrast to a mass limit in the case of vacuum permeabilities. In the ultra-relativistic regime, the dispersion relation is a power law whose amplitude and scaling exponent is inferred from mass and radius estimates of two high-mass white dwarfs, Sirius B and LHS 4033. Evidence for the existence of super-Chandrasekhar mass white dwarfs is provided by several Type Ia supernovae (e.g., SN 2013cv, SN 2003fg, SN 2007if and SN 2009dc), whose mass ejecta exceed the Chandrasekhar limit by up to a factor of two. The dispersive mass-radius relation is used to estimate the radii, central densities, Fermi temperatures, bulk and compression moduli and sound velocities of their white dwarf progenitors.

EX-111 thermal emission from hot white dwarfs: the suggested He abundance-temperature correlation. EX-112: the unique emission line white dwarf star GD 356. Semiannnual status report, 1 December 1985-1 June 1986

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shipman, H.L.

1986-08-01

Progress in the EXOSAT data analysis program is reported. EXOSAT observations for four white dwarfs (WD1031-115, WD0004+330, WD1615-154, and WD0109-264) were obtained. Counting rates were unexpectedly low, indicating that these objects have a substantial amount of x-ray absorbing matter in their photosheres. In addition, soft x-ray pulsations characterized by a 9.25 minute cycle were discovered in the DA white dwarf V471 Tauri. A residual x-ray flux from the K dwarf companion can be seen during the white dwarf eclipse at orbital phase 0.0. Pronounced dips in the soft x-ray light curve occur at orbital phases 0.15, 0.18, and 0.85. The dips may be correlated with the triangular Lagrangian points of the binary orbit. Smaller dips at phases near the eclipse may be associated with cool loops in the K star corona. Data for the white dwarf H1504+65 was also analyzed. This object is particularly unusual in that its photoshere is devoid of hydrogen and helium. Finally, existing data on the white dwarf Sirius B were analyzed to see what constraints from other data can be placed on the properties of this star. Interrelationships between radius, rotational velocity, and effective temperature were derived

MagAO IMAGING OF LONG-PERIOD OBJECTS (MILO). II. A PUZZLING WHITE DWARF AROUND THE SUN-LIKE STAR HD 11112

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rodigas, Timothy J.; Arriagada, Pamela; Faherty, Jacqueline K.; Weinberger, Alycia; Butler, R. Paul; Bergeron, P.; Simon, Amélie; Anglada-Escudé, Guillem; Mamajek, Eric E.; Males, Jared R.; Morzinski, Katie; Close, Laird M.; Hinz, Philip M.; Bailey, Jeremy; Tinney, C. G.; Wittenmyer, Rob; Carter, Brad; Jenkins, James S.; Jones, Hugh; O’Toole, Simon

2016-01-01

HD 11112 is an old, Sun-like star that has a long-term radial velocity (RV) trend indicative of a massive companion on a wide orbit. Here we present direct images of the source responsible for the trend using the Magellan Adaptive Optics system. We detect the object (HD 11112B) at a separation of 2.″2 (100 au) at multiple wavelengths spanning 0.6–4 μ m and show that it is most likely a gravitationally bound cool white dwarf. Modeling its spectral energy distribution suggests that its mass is 0.9–1.1 M ⊙ , which corresponds to very high eccentricity, near edge-on orbits from a Markov chain Monte Carlo analysis of the RV and imaging data together. The total age of the white dwarf is >2 σ , which is discrepant with that of the primary star under most assumptions. The problem can be resolved if the white dwarf progenitor was initially a double white dwarf binary that then merged into the observed high-mass white dwarf. HD 11112B is a unique and intriguing benchmark object that can be used to calibrate atmospheric and evolutionary models of cool white dwarfs and should thus continue to be monitored by RV and direct imaging over the coming years.

MagAO IMAGING OF LONG-PERIOD OBJECTS (MILO). II. A PUZZLING WHITE DWARF AROUND THE SUN-LIKE STAR HD 11112

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rodigas, Timothy J.; Arriagada, Pamela; Faherty, Jacqueline K.; Weinberger, Alycia; Butler, R. Paul [Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 5241 Broad Branch Road, NW, Washington, DC 20015 (United States); Bergeron, P.; Simon, Amélie [Département de Physique, Université de Montréal, C.P. 6128, Succ. Centre-Ville, Montréal, Québec H3C 3J7 (Canada); Anglada-Escudé, Guillem [School of Physics and Astronomy, Queen Mary, University of London, 327 Mile End Road, London (United Kingdom); Mamajek, Eric E. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627-0171 (United States); Males, Jared R.; Morzinski, Katie; Close, Laird M.; Hinz, Philip M. [Steward Observatory, The University of Arizona, 933 N. Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721 (United States); Bailey, Jeremy; Tinney, C. G.; Wittenmyer, Rob [Exoplanetary Science at UNSW, School of Physics, UNSW Australia, Sydney, NSW 2052 (Australia); Carter, Brad [Computational Engineering and Science Research Centre, University of Southern Queensland, Springfield, QLD 4300 (Australia); Jenkins, James S. [Departamento de Astronomia, Universidad de Chile, Casilla 36-D, Las Condes, Santiago (Chile); Jones, Hugh [Centre for Astrophysics Research, University of Hertfordshire, College Lane, Hatfield, Herts AL10 9AB (United Kingdom); O’Toole, Simon, E-mail: trodigas@carnegiescience.edu [Australian Astronomical Observatory, P.O. Box 915, North Ryde, NSW 1670 (Australia); and others

2016-11-10

HD 11112 is an old, Sun-like star that has a long-term radial velocity (RV) trend indicative of a massive companion on a wide orbit. Here we present direct images of the source responsible for the trend using the Magellan Adaptive Optics system. We detect the object (HD 11112B) at a separation of 2.″2 (100 au) at multiple wavelengths spanning 0.6–4 μ m and show that it is most likely a gravitationally bound cool white dwarf. Modeling its spectral energy distribution suggests that its mass is 0.9–1.1 M {sub ⊙}, which corresponds to very high eccentricity, near edge-on orbits from a Markov chain Monte Carlo analysis of the RV and imaging data together. The total age of the white dwarf is >2 σ , which is discrepant with that of the primary star under most assumptions. The problem can be resolved if the white dwarf progenitor was initially a double white dwarf binary that then merged into the observed high-mass white dwarf. HD 11112B is a unique and intriguing benchmark object that can be used to calibrate atmospheric and evolutionary models of cool white dwarfs and should thus continue to be monitored by RV and direct imaging over the coming years.

Special and general relativity with applications to white dwarfs, neutron stars and black holes

CERN Document Server

Glendenning, Norman K

2007-01-01

Special and General Relativity are concisely developed together with essential aspects of nuclear and particle physics. Problem sets are provided for many chapters, making the book ideal for a course on the physics of white dwarf and neutron star interiors.

Rapid Evolution of the Gaseous Exoplanetary Debris around the White Dwarf Star HE 1349–2305

Science.gov (United States)

Dennihy, E.; Clemens, J. C.; Dunlap, B. H.; Fanale, S. M.; Fuchs, J. T.; Hermes, J. J.

2018-02-01

Observations of heavy metal pollution in white dwarf stars indicate that metal-rich planetesimals are frequently scattered into star-grazing orbits, tidally disrupted, and accreted onto the white dwarf surface, offering direct insight into the dynamical evolution of post-main-sequence exoplanetary systems. Emission lines from the gaseous debris in the accretion disks of some of these systems show variations on timescales of decades, and have been interpreted as the general relativistic precession of a recently formed, elliptical disk. Here we present a comprehensive spectroscopic monitoring campaign of the calcium infrared triplet emission in one system, HE 1349–2305, which shows morphological emission profile variations suggestive of a precessing, asymmetric intensity pattern. The emission profiles are shown to vary on a timescale of one to two years, which is an order of magnitude shorter than what has been observed in other similar systems. We demonstrate that this timescale is likely incompatible with general relativistic precession, and consider alternative explanations for the rapid evolution, including the propagation of density waves within the gaseous debris. We conclude with recommendations for follow-up observations, and discuss how the rapid evolution of the gaseous debris in HE 1349–2305 could be leveraged to test theories of exoplanetary debris disk evolution around white dwarf stars.

The 25 parsec local white dwarf population

Science.gov (United States)

Holberg, J. B.; Oswalt, T. D.; Sion, E. M.; McCook, G. P.

2016-11-01

We have extended our detailed survey of the local white dwarf population from 20 to 25 pc, effectively doubling the sample volume, which now includes 232 stars. In the process, new stars within 20 pc have been added, a more uniform set of distance estimates as well as improved spectral and binary classifications are available. The present 25 pc sample is estimated to be about 68 per cent complete (the corresponding 20 pc sample is now 86 per cent complete). The space density of white dwarfs is unchanged at 4.8 ± 0.5 × 10-3 pc-3. This new study includes a white dwarf mass distribution and luminosity function based on the 232 stars in the 25 pc sample. We find a significant excess of single stars over systems containing one or more companions (74 per cent versus 26 per cent). This suggests mechanisms that result in the loss of companions during binary system evolution. In addition, this updated sample exhibits a pronounced deficiency of nearby `Sirius-like' systems. 11 such systems were found within the 20 pc volume versus only one additional system found in the volume between 20 and 25 pc. An estimate of white dwarf birth rates during the last ˜8 Gyr is derived from individual remnant cooling ages. A discussion of likely ways new members of the local sample may be found is provided.

Theoretical models for asteroseismology of DA white dwarf stars

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bradley, P.A. [XTA, MS B220, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545 (United States)

1996-09-01

Because white dwarfs are the most common end state of stellar evolution, determining their internal structure will yield many clues about the final stages of stellar evolution and the physics of matter under extreme conditions. We present the results of our parametric survey of evolutionary models of compositionally stratified white dwarfs with hydrogen surface layers (DA white dwarfs) and provide a comprehensive set of theoretical {ital g}-mode pulsation periods for comparison to observations of pulsating DA white dwarfs. This survey complements the previous survey of helium atmosphere (DB) white dwarf periods of Bradley, Winget, & Wood. We show how to use the periods of low-overtone and/or trapped modes to constrain the internal structure of pulsating DA white dwarfs by utilizing their sensitivity to the total stellar mass and the location of the hydrogen/helium transition zone. We use G117-B15A as an example to demonstrate the potential of our models for asteroseismology; we suggest that G117-B15A has a mass of 0.55 {ital M}{sub {circle_dot}} and a hydrogen layer mass of {approx_equal}1.5{times}10{sup {minus}4} {ital M}{sub {asterisk}}. {copyright} {ital 1996 The American Astronomical Society.}

Convective mixing and accretion in white dwarfs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koester, D.

1976-01-01

The evolution of convection zones in cooling white dwarfs with helium envelopes and outer hydrogen layers is calculated with a complete stellar evolution code. It is shown that white dwarfs of spectral type DB cannot be formed from DA stars by convective mixing. However, for cooler temperatures (Tsub(e) [de

Survival of a brown dwarf after engulfment by a red giant star.

Science.gov (United States)

Maxted, P F L; Napiwotzki, R; Dobbie, P D; Burleigh, M R

2006-08-03

Many sub-stellar companions (usually planets but also some brown dwarfs) orbit solar-type stars. These stars can engulf their sub-stellar companions when they become red giants. This interaction may explain several outstanding problems in astrophysics but it is unclear under what conditions a low mass companion will evaporate, survive the interaction unchanged or gain mass. Observational tests of models for this interaction have been hampered by a lack of positively identified remnants-that is, white dwarf stars with close, sub-stellar companions. The companion to the pre-white dwarf AA Doradus may be a brown dwarf, but the uncertain history of this star and the extreme luminosity difference between the components make it difficult to interpret the observations or to put strong constraints on the models. The magnetic white dwarf SDSS J121209.31 + 013627.7 may have a close brown dwarf companion but little is known about this binary at present. Here we report the discovery of a brown dwarf in a short period orbit around a white dwarf. The properties of both stars in this binary can be directly observed and show that the brown dwarf was engulfed by a red giant but that this had little effect on it.

Stellar Archeology: What White Dwarf Stars Tell Us About the History of the Galaxy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Terry D. Oswalt

2012-06-01

Full Text Available White dwarf stars have played important roles in rather diverse areas of astrophysics. This paper outlines how these stellar remnants, especially those in widely separated “fragile” binaries, have provided unique leverage on difficult astrophysical problems such as the ages of stars, the structure and evolution of the Galaxy, the nature of dark matter and even the discovery of dark energy.

Crystallization of carbon-oxygen mixtures in white dwarf stars.

Science.gov (United States)

Horowitz, C J; Schneider, A S; Berry, D K

2010-06-11

We determine the phase diagram for dense carbon-oxygen mixtures in white dwarf (WD) star interiors using molecular dynamics simulations involving liquid and solid phases. Our phase diagram agrees well with predictions from Ogata et al. and from Medin and Cumming and gives lower melting temperatures than Segretain et al. Observations of WD crystallization in the globular cluster NGC 6397 by Winget et al. suggest that the melting temperature of WD cores is close to that for pure carbon. If this is true, our phase diagram implies that the central oxygen abundance in these stars is less than about 60%. This constraint, along with assumptions about convection in stellar evolution models, limits the effective S factor for the 12C(α,γ)16O reaction to S(300)≤170  keV b.

Energy transport in radially accreting white dwarf stars

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Thompson, A.M.

1986-10-01

Some of the non-thermal energy transport processes which may be present in a white dwarf accretion column are examined and it is determined whether these could in any way contribute to a resolution of the soft X-ray puzzle. The first two Chapters of this Thesis constitute a review of the observations and proposed models for white dwarf accretion columns. In Chapter 3 we show that in Kuijpers and Pringle's original bombardment model of white dwarf accretion columns, in which the energy of the accreting material is deposited uniformly into a static atmosphere which then radiates the energy away as optically thin bremsstrahlung/line radiation, an incorrect Coulomb collisional timescale was used. In Chapter 4 we extend the calculations of Chapter 3 to include the effect of cyclotron radiation. It is concluded that a cyclotron cooled bombardment solution for a white dwarf accretion column may exist. We extend this calculation to derive a simple piecewise uniform temperature structure for such an accretion column, incorporating the effect of thermal conduction. In Chaper 5 we examine two of the non thermal emission mechanisms that might be present in white dwarf accretion columns:- non thermal Lyman-{alpha} emission and non thermal inverse bremsstrahlung emission. It is shown that neither would actually be sufficiently large to be detectable. In Chapter 6 some possible extensions to the work presented are suggested. (author).

Atypical Thermonuclear Supernovae from Tidally Crushed White Dwarfs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rosswog, S.; Ramirez-Ruiz, E.; Hix, William Raphael

2008-01-01

Suggestive evidence has accumulated that intermediate mass black holes (IMBHs) exist in some globular clusters. Some stars will inevitably wander sufficiently close to the hole to suffer a tidal disruption. IMBHs can disrupt not only solar-type stars but also compact white dwarf stars. We investigate the fate of white dwarfs that approach the hole close enough to be disrupted and compressed to such an extent that explosive nuclear burning is triggered. Based on a precise modeling of the gas dynamics together with the nuclear reactions, it is argued that thermonuclear ignition is a natural outcome for white dwarfs of all masses passing well within the tidal radius. A good fraction of the star is accreted, yielding high luminosities that persist for up to a year. A peculiar, underluminous thermonuclear explosion accompanied by a soft X-ray transient signal would, if detected, be a compelling testimony for the presence of an IMBH

Thomson scattering in magnetic fields. [of white dwarf stars

Science.gov (United States)

Whitney, Barbara

1989-01-01

The equation of transfer in Thomson scattering atmospheres with magnetic fields is solved using Monte Carlo methods. Two cases, a plane parallel atmosphere with a magnetic field perpendicular to the atmosphere, and a dipole star, are investigated. The wavelength dependence of polarization from plane-parallel atmosphere is qualitatively similar to that observed in the magnetic white dwarf Grw+70 deg 8247, and the field strength determined by the calculation, 320 MG, is quantitatively similar to that determined from the line spectrum. The dipole model does not resemble the data as well as the single plane-parallel atmosphere.

Asteroseismology of pulsating DA white dwarfs with fully evolutionary models

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Althaus L.G.

2013-03-01

Full Text Available We present a new approach for asteroseismology of DA white dwarfs that consists in the employment of a large set of non-static, physically sound, fully evolutionary models representative of these stars. We already have applied this approach with success to pulsating PG1159 stars (GW Vir variables. Our white dwarf models, which cover a wide range of stellar masses, effective temperatures, and envelope thicknesses, are the result of fully evolutionary computations that take into account the complete history of the progenitor stars from the ZAMS. In particular, the models are characterized by self-consistent chemical structures from the centre to the surface, a crucial aspect of white dwarf asteroseismology. We apply this approach to an ensemble of 44 bright DAV (ZZ Ceti stars.

Evolution of the pulsation properties of hot pre-white dwarf stars

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kawaler, S.D.; Winget, D.E.; Hansen, C.J.

1985-08-01

After solving the equations of linear, nonradial adiabatic oscillation for evolutionary pre-white dwarf (PWD) models, calculations are made for the periods, eigenfunctions, weight functions and rates of period change for high order dipole and quadrupole gravity mode oscillations in spherical nonrotating PWD models. The results obtained place stringent upper limits on the absolute magnitude of the rates of period change expected in stars represented by this class of models. 43 references.

NO NEUTRON STAR COMPANION TO THE LOWEST MASS SDSS WHITE DWARF

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Agueeros, Marcel A.; Camilo, Fernando; Heinke, Craig; Kilic, Mukremin; Anderson, Scott F.; Silvestri, Nicole M.; Freire, Paulo; Kleinman, Scot J.; Liebert, James W.

2009-01-01

SDSS J091709.55+463821.8 (hereafter J0917+4638) is the lowest surface gravity white dwarf (WD) currently known, with log g = 5.55 ± 0.05 (M ∼ 0.17 M sun ). Such low-mass white dwarfs (LMWDs) are believed to originate in binaries that evolve into WD/WD or WD/neutron star (NS) systems. An optical search for J0917+4638's companion showed that it must be a compact object with a mass ≥0.28 M sun . Here we report on Green Bank Telescope 820 MHz and XMM-Newton X-ray observations of J0917+4638 intended to uncover a potential NS companion to the LMWD. No convincing pulsar signal is detected in our radio data. Our X-ray observation also failed to detect X-ray emission from J0917+4638's companion, while we would have detected any of the millisecond radio pulsars in 47 Tuc. We conclude that the companion is almost certainly another WD.

2MASS J06562998+3002455: Not a Cool White Dwarf Candidate, but a Population II Halo Star

Science.gov (United States)

de la Fuente Marcos, Raúl; de la Fuente Marcos, Carlos

2018-06-01

2MASS J06562998+3002455 or PSS 309-6 is a high proper-motion star that was discovered during a survey with the 2.1 m telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory. Here, we reevaluate the status of this interesting star using Gaia DR2. Our results strongly suggest that PSS 309-6 could be a Population II star as the value of its V component is close to -220 km/s, which is typical for halo stars in the immediate solar neighborhood. Kapteyn's star is the nearest known halo star and PSS 309-6 exhibits similar kinematic and photometric signatures. Its properties also resemble those of 2MASS J15484023-3544254, which was once thought to be the nearest cool white dwarf but was later reclassified as K-type subdwarf. Although it is virtually certain that PSS 309-6 is not a nearby white dwarf but a more distant Population II subdwarf, further spectroscopic information, including radial velocity measurements, is necessary to fully characterize this probable member of the Galactic halo.

The Physical Nature of Subdwarf A Stars: White Dwarf Impostors

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Warren R.; Kilic, Mukremin; Gianninas, A.

2017-04-01

We address the physical nature of subdwarf A-type (sdA) stars and their possible link to extremely low mass (ELM) white dwarfs (WDs). The two classes of objects are confused in low-resolution spectroscopy. However, colors and proper motions indicate that sdA stars are cooler and more luminous, and thus larger in radius, than published ELM WDs. We demonstrate that surface gravities derived from pure hydrogen models suffer a systematic ˜1 dex error for sdA stars, likely explained by metal line blanketing below 9000 K. A detailed study of five eclipsing binaries with radial velocity orbital solutions and infrared excess establishes that these sdA stars are metal-poor ≃1.2 M ⊙ main sequence stars with ≃0.8 M ⊙ companions. While WDs must exist at sdA temperatures, only ˜1% of a magnitude-limited sdA sample should be ELM WDs. We conclude that the majority of sdA stars are metal-poor A-F type stars in the halo, and that recently discovered pulsating ELM WD-like stars with no obvious radial velocity variations may be SX Phe variables, not pulsating WDs.

The Physical Nature of Subdwarf A Stars: White Dwarf Impostors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brown, Warren R.; Kilic, Mukremin; Gianninas, A.

2017-01-01

We address the physical nature of subdwarf A-type (sdA) stars and their possible link to extremely low mass (ELM) white dwarfs (WDs). The two classes of objects are confused in low-resolution spectroscopy. However, colors and proper motions indicate that sdA stars are cooler and more luminous, and thus larger in radius, than published ELM WDs. We demonstrate that surface gravities derived from pure hydrogen models suffer a systematic ∼1 dex error for sdA stars, likely explained by metal line blanketing below 9000 K. A detailed study of five eclipsing binaries with radial velocity orbital solutions and infrared excess establishes that these sdA stars are metal-poor ≃1.2 M ⊙ main sequence stars with ≃0.8 M ⊙ companions. While WDs must exist at sdA temperatures, only ∼1% of a magnitude-limited sdA sample should be ELM WDs. We conclude that the majority of sdA stars are metal-poor A–F type stars in the halo, and that recently discovered pulsating ELM WD-like stars with no obvious radial velocity variations may be SX Phe variables, not pulsating WDs.

The Physical Nature of Subdwarf A Stars: White Dwarf Impostors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brown, Warren R. [Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Kilic, Mukremin; Gianninas, A., E-mail: wbrown@cfa.harvard.edu, E-mail: kilic@ou.edu, E-mail: alexg@nhn.ou.edu [Homer L. Dodge Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Oklahoma, 440 W. Brooks Street, Norman, OK, 73019 (United States)

2017-04-10

We address the physical nature of subdwarf A-type (sdA) stars and their possible link to extremely low mass (ELM) white dwarfs (WDs). The two classes of objects are confused in low-resolution spectroscopy. However, colors and proper motions indicate that sdA stars are cooler and more luminous, and thus larger in radius, than published ELM WDs. We demonstrate that surface gravities derived from pure hydrogen models suffer a systematic ∼1 dex error for sdA stars, likely explained by metal line blanketing below 9000 K. A detailed study of five eclipsing binaries with radial velocity orbital solutions and infrared excess establishes that these sdA stars are metal-poor ≃1.2 M {sub ⊙} main sequence stars with ≃0.8 M {sub ⊙} companions. While WDs must exist at sdA temperatures, only ∼1% of a magnitude-limited sdA sample should be ELM WDs. We conclude that the majority of sdA stars are metal-poor A–F type stars in the halo, and that recently discovered pulsating ELM WD-like stars with no obvious radial velocity variations may be SX Phe variables, not pulsating WDs.

Properties of high-density binary mixtures and the age of the Universe from white dwarf stars

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Garcia-Berro, E.; Hernanz, M.; Isern, J.; Mochkovitch, R.

1988-06-16

The luminosity of white dwarf stars can be attributed to the cooling process of their degenerate cores. The simple relationship existing between their luminosity and their age, together with the lack of white dwarfs fainter than log (L/L solar mass) approx -4.5, provides a method of measuring the age of the disk and consequently that of the Universe. Values of the age of the galactic disk and Universe depend on the assumption that completely ionized carbon and oxygen are miscible in solid phase. It is possible, however, that completely ionized carbon and oxygen separate during the process of crystallization. Here, we attempt to show that a galactic disk age of 15 Gyr cannot be excluded by the white dwarf observations if carbon and oxygen are immiscible in solid phase.

A SEARCH FOR ASTEROIDS, MOONS, AND RINGS ORBITING WHITE DWARFS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Di Stefano, Rosanne; Howell, Steve B.; Kawaler, Steven D.

2010-01-01

Do white dwarfs host asteroid systems? Although several lines of argument suggest that white dwarfs may be orbited by large populations of asteroids, transits would provide the most direct evidence. We demonstrate that the Kepler mission has the capability to detect transits of white dwarfs by asteroids. Because white-dwarf asteroid systems, if they exist, are likely to contain many asteroids orbiting in a spatially extended distribution, discoveries of asteroid transits can be made by monitoring only a small number of white dwarfs, compatible with Kepler's primary mission, which is to monitor stars with potentially habitable planets. Possible future missions that survey 10 times as many stars with similar sensitivity and minute-cadence monitoring can establish the characteristics of asteroid systems around white dwarfs, such as the distribution of asteroid sizes and semimajor axes. Transits by planets would be more dramatic, but the probability that they will occur is lower. Ensembles of planetary moons and/or the presence of rings around planets can also produce transits detectable by Kepler. The presence of moons and rings can significantly increase the probability that Kepler will discover planets orbiting white dwarfs, even while monitoring only a small number of them.

Multiband photometry and spectroscopy of an all-sky sample of bright white dwarfs

Science.gov (United States)

Raddi, R.; Gentile Fusillo, N. P.; Pala, A. F.; Hermes, J. J.; Gänsicke, B. T.; Chote, P.; Hollands, M. A.; Henden, A.; Catalán, S.; Geier, S.; Koester, D.; Munari, U.; Napiwotzki, R.; Tremblay, P.-E.

2017-12-01

The upcoming NASA Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) will obtain space-based uninterrupted light curves for a large sample of bright white dwarfs distributed across the entire sky, providing a very rich resource for asteroseismological studies and the search for transits from planetary debris. We have compiled an all-sky catalogue of ultraviolet, optical and infrared photometry as well as proper motions, which we propose as an essential tool for the preliminary identification and characterization of potential targets. We present data for 1864 known white dwarfs and 305 high-probability white dwarf candidates brighter than 17 mag. We describe the spectroscopic follow-up of 135 stars, of which 82 are white dwarfs and 25 are hot subdwarfs. The new confirmed stars include six pulsating white dwarf candidates (ZZ Cetis), and nine white dwarf binaries with a cool main-sequence companion. We identify one star with a spectroscopic distance of only 25 pc from the Sun. Around the time TESS is launched, we foresee that all white dwarfs in this sample will have trigonometric parallaxes measured by the ESA Gaia mission next year.

FIRST DIRECT EVIDENCE THAT BARIUM DWARFS HAVE WHITE DWARF COMPANIONS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gray, R. O.; McGahee, C. E.; Griffin, R. E. M.; Corbally, C. J.

2011-01-01

Barium II (Ba) stars are chemically peculiar F-, G-, and K-type objects that show enhanced abundances of s-process elements. Since s-process nucleosynthesis is unlikely to take place in stars prior to the advanced asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stage, the prevailing hypothesis is that each present Ba star was contaminated by an AGB companion which is now a white dwarf (WD). Unless the initial mass ratio of such a binary was fairly close to unity, the receiving star is thus at least as likely to be a dwarf as a giant. So although most known Ba stars appear to be giants, the hypothesis requires that Ba dwarfs be comparably plentiful and moreover that they should all have WD companions. However, despite dedicated searches with the IUE satellite, no WD companions have been directly detected to date among the classical Ba dwarfs, even though some 90% of those stars are spectroscopic binaries, so the contamination hypothesis is therefore presently in some jeopardy. In this paper, we analyze recent deep, near-UV and far-UV Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) exposures of four of the brightest of the class (HD 2454, 15360, 26367, and 221531), together with archived GALEX data for two newly recognized Ba dwarfs: HD 34654 and HD 114520 (which also prove to be spectroscopic binaries). The GALEX observations of the Ba dwarfs as a group show a significant far-UV excess compared to a control sample of normal F-type dwarfs. We suggest that this ensemble far-UV excess constitutes the first direct evidence that Ba dwarfs have WD companions.

White dwarf stars and the age of the Galactic disk

Science.gov (United States)

Wood, M. A.

1990-01-01

The history of the Galaxy is written in its oldest stars, the white dwarf (WD) stars. Significant limits can be placed on both the Galactic age and star formation history. A wide range of input WD model sequences is used to derive the current limits to the age estimates suggested by fitting to the observed falloff in the WD luminosity function. The results suggest that the star formation rate over the history of the Galaxy has been relatively constant, and that the disk age lies in the range 6-12 billion years, depending upon the assumed structure of WD stars, and in particular on the core composition and surface helium layer mass. Using plausible mixed C/O core input models, the estimates for the disk age range from 8-10.5 Gyr, i.e.,sustantially younger than most age estimates for the halo globular clusters. After speculating on the significance of the results, expected observational and theoretical refinements which will further enhance the reliability of the method are discussed.

Using White Dwarf Companions of Blue Stragglers to Constrain Mass Transfer Physics

Science.gov (United States)

Gosnell, Natalie M.; Leiner, Emily; Geller, Aaron M.; Knigge, Christian; Mathieu, Robert D.; Sills, Alison; Leigh, Nathan

2018-06-01

Complete membership studies of old open clusters reveal that 25% of the evolved stars follow pathways in stellar evolution that are impacted by binary evolution. Recent studies show that the majority of blue straggler stars, traditionally defined to be stars brighter and bluer than the corresponding main sequence turnoff, are formed through mass transfer from a giant star onto a main sequence companion, resulting in a white dwarf in a binary system with a blue straggler. We will present constraints on the histories and mass transfer efficiencies for two blue straggler-white dwarf binaries in open cluster NGC 188. The constraints are a result of measuring white dwarf cooling temperatures and surface gravities with HST COS far-ultraviolet spectroscopy. This information sets both the timeline for mass transfer and the stellar masses in the pre-mass transfer binary, allowing us to constrain aspects of the mass transfer physics. One system is formed through Case C mass transfer, leaving a CO-core white dwarf, and provides an interesting test case for mass transfer from an asymptotic giant branch star in an eccentric system. The other system formed through Case B mass transfer, leaving a He-core white dwarf, and challenges our current understanding of the expected regimes for stable mass transfer from red giant branch stars.

TRANSIT SURVEYS FOR EARTHS IN THE HABITABLE ZONES OF WHITE DWARFS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Agol, Eric

2011-01-01

To date the search for habitable Earth-like planets has primarily focused on nuclear burning stars. I propose that this search should be expanded to cool white dwarf stars that have expended their nuclear fuel. I define the continuously habitable zone of white dwarfs and show that it extends from ∼0.005 to 0.02 AU for white dwarfs with masses from 0.4 to 0.9 M sun , temperatures less than ∼10 4 K, and habitable durations of at least 3 Gyr. As they are similar in size to Earth, white dwarfs may be deeply eclipsed by terrestrial planets that orbit edge-on, which can easily be detected with ground-based telescopes. If planets can migrate inward or reform near white dwarfs, I show that a global robotic telescope network could carry out a transit survey of nearby white dwarfs placing interesting constraints on the presence of habitable Earths. If planets were detected, I show that the survey would favor detection of planets similar to Earth: similar size, temperature, and rotation period, and host star temperatures similar to the Sun. The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope could place even tighter constraints on the frequency of habitable Earths around white dwarfs. The confirmation and characterization of these planets might be carried out with large ground and space telescopes.

On the Stability of Strange Dwarf Hybrid Stars

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Alford, Mark G.; Harris, Steven P. [Physics Department, Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63130 (United States); Sachdeva, Pratik S., E-mail: harrissp@wustl.edu [Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States)

2017-10-01

We investigate the stability of “strange dwarfs”: white-dwarf-sized stars with a density discontinuity between a small dense core of quark matter and a thick low-density mantle of degenerate electrons. Previous work on strange dwarfs suggested that such a discontinuity could stabilize stars that would have been classified as unstable by the conventional criteria based on extrema in the mass–radius relation. We investigate the stability of such stars by numerically solving the Sturm–Liouville equations for the lowest-energy modes of the star. We find that the conventional criteria are correct, and strange dwarfs are not stable.

A Refined Search for Pulsations in White Dwarf Companions to Millisecond Pulsars

Science.gov (United States)

Kilic, Mukremin; Hermes, J. J.; Córsico, A. H.; Kosakowski, Alekzander; Brown, Warren R.; Antoniadis, John; Calcaferro, Leila M.; Gianninas, A.; Althaus, Leandro G.; Green, M. J.

2018-06-01

We present optical high-speed photometry of three millisecond pulsars with low-mass (<0.3 M⊙) white dwarf companions, bringing the total number of such systems with follow-up time-series photometry to five. We confirm the detection of pulsations in one system, the white dwarf companion to PSR J1738+0333, and show that the pulsation frequencies and amplitudes are variable over many months. A full asteroseismic analysis for this star is under-constrained, but the mode periods we observe are consistent with expectations for a M⋆ = 0.16 - 0.19M⊙ white dwarf, as suggested from spectroscopy. We also present the empirical boundaries of the instability strip for low-mass white dwarfs based on the full sample of white dwarfs, and discuss the distinction between pulsating low-mass white dwarfs and subdwarf A/F stars.

Pulsations in carbon-atmosphere white dwarfs: A new chapter in white dwarf asteroseismology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fontaine, G; Brassard, P; Dufour, P; Green, E M; Liebert, J

2009-01-01

We present some of the results of a survey aimed at exploring the asteroseismological potential of the newly-discovered carbon-atmosphere white dwarfs. We show that, in certains regions of parameter space, carbon-atmosphere white dwarfs may drive low-order gravity modes. We demonstrate that our theoretical results are consistent with the recent exciting discovery of luminosity variations in SDSS J1426+5752 and some null results obtained by a team of scientists at McDonald Observatory. We also present follow-up photometric observations carried out by ourselves at the Mount Bigelow 1.6-m telescope using the new Mont4K camera. The results of follow-up spectroscopic observations at the MMT are also briefly reported, including the surprising discovery that SDSS J1426+5752 is not only a pulsating star but that it is also a magnetic white dwarf with a surface field near 1.2 MG. The discovery of g-mode pulsations in SDSS J1426+5752 is quite significant in itself as it opens a fourth asteroseismological 'window', after the GW Vir, V777 Her, and ZZ Ceti families, through which one may study white dwarfs.

Short-range effects in large white dwarfs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Membrado, M.C.; Pacheco, A.F.

1988-01-01

Recent work of Membrado and Pacheco (1988) on the implication of Yukawa-like effects in small white dwarfs is extended to analyze the very massive case. Although the role of these impurities grows substantially as the radius of the star decreases, when reasonable supergravity parameters are used the predicted change in the white dwarf mass-radius relation is unobservably small. 8 references

White dwarfs, the galaxy and Dirac's cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stothers, R.

1976-01-01

Reference is made to the apparent absence, or deficiency, of white dwarfs fainter than about 10 -4 L solar mass. An explanation is here proposed on the basis of Dirac's cosmological hypothesis that the gravitational constant, G, has varied with the time elapsed since the beginning of the expansion of the Universe as t -1 and the number of particles in the Universe has increases as t 2 , if the measurements are made in atomic units. For a white dwarf the Chandrasekhar mass limit is a collection of fundamental constants proportional to Gsup(-3/2) and therefore increases with time as tsup(3/2). In the 'additive' version of Dirac's theory the actual mass, M, of a relatively small object like a star remains essentially unchanged by the creation of new matter in the Universe and hence a white dwarf will become more stable with the course of time; but in the 'multiplicative' version of the theory, M increases as t 2 and may eventually exceed the Chandrasekhar limit, and if this happens, gravitational collapse of the white dwarf into an invisible black hole or neutron star will quickly occur. It is considered interesting to find whether the 'multiplicative' theory may have a bearing on the apparent deficiency of faint white dwarfs, and to consider whether there are any possible consequences for galactic evolution. This is here discussed. (U.K.)

Genesis of magnetic fields in isolated white dwarfs

Science.gov (United States)

Briggs, Gordon P.; Ferrario, Lilia; Tout, Christopher A.; Wickramasinghe, Dayal T.

2018-05-01

A dynamo mechanism driven by differential rotation when stars merge has been proposed to explain the presence of strong fields in certain classes of magnetic stars. In the case of the high field magnetic white dwarfs (HFMWDs), the site of the differential rotation has been variously thought to be the common envelope, the hot outer regions of a merged degenerate core or an accretion disc formed by a tidally disrupted companion that is subsequently accreted by a degenerate core. We have shown previously that the observed incidence of magnetism and the mass distribution in HFMWDs are consistent with the hypothesis that they are the result of merging binaries during common envelope evolution. Here we calculate the magnetic field strengths generated by common envelope interactions for synthetic populations using a simple prescription for the generation of fields and find that the observed magnetic field distribution is also consistent with the stellar merging hypothesis. We use the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test to study the correlation between the calculated and the observed field strengths and find that it is consistent for low envelope ejection efficiency. We also suggest that field generation by the plunging of a giant gaseous planet on to a white dwarf may explain why magnetism among cool white dwarfs (including DZ white dwarfs) is higher than among hot white dwarfs. In this picture a super-Jupiter residing in the outer regions of the white dwarf's planetary system is perturbed into a highly eccentric orbit by a close stellar encounter and is later accreted by the white dwarf.

Pulsating White Dwarfs in Cataclysmic Variables: The Marriage of ZZ Cet and Dwarf Nova

OpenAIRE

Warner, Brian; Woudt, Patrick A.

2003-01-01

There are now four dwarf novae known with white dwarf primaries that show large amplitude non-radial oscillations of the kind seen in ZZ Cet stars. We compare the properties of these stars and point out that by the end of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey more than 30 should be known.

White dwarf stars with chemically stratified atmospheres

Science.gov (United States)

Muchmore, D.

1982-01-01

Recent observations and theory suggest that some white dwarfs may have chemically stratified atmospheres - thin layers of hydrogen lying above helium-rich envelopes. Models of such atmospheres show that a discontinuous temperature inversion can occur at the boundary between the layers. Model spectra for layered atmospheres at 30,000 K and 50,000 K tend to have smaller decrements at 912 A, 504 A, and 228 A than uniform atmospheres would have. On the basis of their continuous extreme ultraviolet spectra, it is possible to distinguish observationally between uniform and layered atmospheres for hot white dwarfs.

QCD matter in white dwarfs and supernova collapse

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mathews, Grant J.; Meixner, M.; Lan, N.Q.; Suh, I.-S.

2010-01-01

The search for astrophysical evidence for a transition to QCD matter is an important goal. Although much effort has gone into searching for neutron star candidates, here we describe the exploration of two other possible signatures. One is the search for strange dwarfs. Masses and radii for a large number of white dwarfs have been deduced from a combination of proper motion studies, Hipparcos parallax distances, effective temperatures, and binary or spectroscopic masses. Some stars appear to have radii which are significantly smaller than that expected for a standard electron-degenerate white-dwarf equation of state. We argue that there is marginal evidence for bimodality in the radius distribution. We show that the data exhibit several features consistent with the expected mass-radius relation of strange dwarfs. We identify eight nearby white dwarfs that are possible candidates for strange matter cores and suggest observational tests of this hypothesis. We also review the current status of core-collapse supernova research, and in particular, the effects on the explosion of a QCD phase transition in the proto-neutron-star core. We describe how a first order transition could enhance the explosion and lead to observable effects in the emergent neutrino light curve. (author)

Constraints on modified gravity models from white dwarfs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Banerjee, Srimanta; Singh, Tejinder P. [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai 400005, Maharashtra (India); Shankar, Swapnil, E-mail: srimanta.banerjee@tifr.res.in, E-mail: swapnil.shankar@cbs.ac.in, E-mail: tpsingh@tifr.res.in [Department of Physics, Centre for Excellence in Basic Sciences, Mumbai 400098, Maharashtra (India)

2017-10-01

Modified gravity theories can introduce modifications to the Poisson equation in the Newtonian limit. As a result, we expect to see interesting features of these modifications inside stellar objects. White dwarf stars are one of the most well studied stars in stellar astrophysics. We explore the effect of modified gravity theories inside white dwarfs. We derive the modified stellar structure equations and solve them to study the mass-radius relationships for various modified gravity theories. We also constrain the parameter space of these theories from observations.

Searching for white dwarfs candidates in Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nalezyty, Miroslaw; Majczyna, Agnieszka; Ciechanowska, Anna; Madej, Jerzy

2009-01-01

Large amount of observational spectroscopic data are recently available from different observational projects, like Sloan Digital Sky Survey. It's become more urgent to identify white dwarfs stars based on data itself i.e. without modelling white dwarf atmospheres. In particular, existing methods of white dwarfs identification presented in Kleinman et al. (2004) and in Eisenstein et al. (2006) did not allow to find all the white dwarfs in examined data. We intend to test various criteria of searching for white dwarf candidates, based on photometric and spectral features.

Hot accreting white dwarfs in the quasi-static approximation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iben, I. Jr.

1982-01-01

Properties of white dwarfs which are accreting hydrogen-rich matter at rates in the range 1.5 x 10 -9 to 2.5 x 10 -7 M/sub sun/ yr -1 are investigated in several approximations. Steady-burning models, in which matter is processed through nuclear-burning shells as rapidly as it is accreted, provide a framework for understanding the properties of models in which thermal pulses induced by hydrogen burning and helium burning are allowed to occur. In these latter models, the underlying carbon-oxygen core is chosen to be in a cycle-averaged steady state with regard to compressional heating and neutrino losses. Several of these models are evolved in the quasi-static approximation. Combining results obtained in the steady-burning approximation with those obtained in the quasi-static approximation, expressions are obtained for estimating, as functions of accretion rate and white dwarf mass, the thermal pulse recurrence period and the duration of hydrogen-burning phases. The time spent by an accreting model burning hydrogen as a large star of giant dimensions versus time spent burning hydrogen as a hot dwarf is also estimated as a function of model mass and accretion rate. Finally, suggestions for detecting observational counterparts of the theoretical models and suggestions for further theoretical investigations are offered. Subject headings: stars: accretion: stars: interiors: stars: novae: stars: symbiotic: stars: white dwarfs

TOWARD HIGH-PRECISION SEISMIC STUDIES OF WHITE DWARF STARS: PARAMETRIZATION OF THE CORE AND TESTS OF ACCURACY

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Giammichele, N.; Fontaine, G.; Brassard, P. [Département de Physique, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC H3C 3J7 (Canada); Charpinet, S. [Université de Toulouse, UPS-OMP, IRAP, Toulouse F-31400 (France)

2017-01-10

We present a prescription for parametrizing the chemical profile in the core of white dwarfs in light of the recent discovery that pulsation modes may sometimes be deeply confined in some cool pulsating white dwarfs. Such modes may be used as unique probes of the complicated chemical stratification that results from several processes that occurred in previous evolutionary phases of intermediate-mass stars. This effort is part of our ongoing quest for more credible and realistic seismic models of white dwarfs using static, parametrized equilibrium structures. Inspired by successful techniques developed in design optimization fields (such as aerodynamics), we exploit Akima splines for the tracing of the chemical profile of oxygen (carbon) in the core of a white dwarf model. A series of tests are then presented to better seize the precision and significance of the results that can be obtained in an asteroseismological context. We also show that the new parametrization passes an essential basic test, as it successfully reproduces the chemical stratification of a full evolutionary model.

TOWARD HIGH-PRECISION SEISMIC STUDIES OF WHITE DWARF STARS: PARAMETRIZATION OF THE CORE AND TESTS OF ACCURACY

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Giammichele, N.; Fontaine, G.; Brassard, P.; Charpinet, S.

2017-01-01

We present a prescription for parametrizing the chemical profile in the core of white dwarfs in light of the recent discovery that pulsation modes may sometimes be deeply confined in some cool pulsating white dwarfs. Such modes may be used as unique probes of the complicated chemical stratification that results from several processes that occurred in previous evolutionary phases of intermediate-mass stars. This effort is part of our ongoing quest for more credible and realistic seismic models of white dwarfs using static, parametrized equilibrium structures. Inspired by successful techniques developed in design optimization fields (such as aerodynamics), we exploit Akima splines for the tracing of the chemical profile of oxygen (carbon) in the core of a white dwarf model. A series of tests are then presented to better seize the precision and significance of the results that can be obtained in an asteroseismological context. We also show that the new parametrization passes an essential basic test, as it successfully reproduces the chemical stratification of a full evolutionary model.

White dwarfs, the galaxy and Dirac's cosmology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stothers, R [National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Greenbelt, Md. (USA). Goddard Space Flight Center

1976-08-05

Reference is made to the apparent absence, or deficiency, of white dwarfs fainter than about 10/sup -4/L solar mass. An explanation is here proposed on the basis of Dirac's cosmological hypothesis that the gravitational constant, G, has varied with the time elapsed since the beginning of the expansion of the Universe as t/sup -1/ and the number of particles in the Universe has increases as t/sup 2/, if the measurements are made in atomic units. For a white dwarf the Chandrasekhar mass limit is a collection of fundamental constants proportional to Gsup(-3/2) and therefore increases with time as tsup(3/2). In the 'additive' version of Dirac's theory the actual mass, M, of a relatively small object like a star remains essentially unchanged by the creation of new matter in the Universe and hence a white dwarf will become more stable with the course of time; but in the 'multiplicative' version of the theory, M increases as t/sup 2/ and may eventually exceed the Chandrasekhar limit, and if this happens, gravitational collapse of the white dwarf into an invisible black hole or neutron star will quickly occur. It is considered interesting to find whether the 'multiplicative' theory may have a bearing on the apparent deficiency of faint white dwarfs, and to consider whether there are any possible consequences for galactic evolution. This is here discussed.

ON THE FORMATION OF HOT DQ WHITE DWARFS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Althaus, L. G.; Corsico, A. H.; Miller Bertolami, M. M.; Romero, A. D.; GarcIa-Berro, E.

2009-01-01

We present the first full evolutionary calculations aimed at exploring the origin of hot DQ white dwarfs. These calculations consistently cover the whole evolution from the born-again stage to the white dwarf cooling track. Our calculations provide strong support for the diffusive/convective mixing picture for the formation of hot DQs. We find that the hot DQ stage is a short-lived stage and that the range of effective temperatures where hot DQ stars are found can be accounted for by different masses of residual helium and/or different initial stellar masses. In the frame of this scenario, a correlation between the effective temperature and the surface carbon abundance in DQs should be expected, with the largest carbon abundances expected in the hottest DQs. From our calculations, we suggest that most of the hot DQs could be the cooler descendants of some PG 1159 stars characterized by He-rich envelopes markedly smaller than those predicted by the standard theory of stellar evolution. At least for one hot DQ, the high-gravity white dwarf SDSS J142625.70+575218.4, an evolutionary link between this star and the massive PG 1159 star H1504+65, is plausible.

THE INITIAL-FINAL MASS RELATION AMONG WHITE DWARFS IN WIDE BINARIES

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhao, J. K.; Oswalt, T. D.; Willson, L. A.; Wang, Q.; Zhao, G.

2012-01-01

We present the initial-final mass relation derived from 10 white dwarfs in wide binaries that consist of a main-sequence star and a white dwarf. The temperature and gravity of each white dwarf were measured by fitting theoretical model atmospheres to the observed spectrum using a χ 2 fitting algorithm. The cooling time and mass were obtained using theoretical cooling tracks. The total age of each binary was estimated from the chromospheric activity of its main-sequence component to an uncertainty of about 0.17 dex in log t. The difference between the total age and white dwarf cooling time is taken as the main-sequence lifetime of each white dwarf. The initial mass of each white dwarf was then determined using stellar evolution tracks with a corresponding metallicity derived from spectra of their main-sequence companions, thus yielding the initial-final mass relation. Most of the initial masses of the white dwarf components are between 1 and 2 M ☉ . Our results suggest a correlation between the metallicity of a white dwarf's progenitor and the amount of post-main-sequence mass loss it experiences—at least among progenitors with masses in the range of 1-2 M ☉ . A comparison of our observations to theoretical models suggests that low-mass stars preferentially lose mass on the red giant branch.

The angular momentum of isolated white dwarfs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brassard P.

2013-03-01

Full Text Available This is a very brief report on an ongoing program aimed at mapping the internal rotation profiles of stars through asteroseismology. Three years ago, we developed and applied successfully a new technique to the pulsating GW Vir white dwarf PG 1159−035, and were able to infer that it rotates very slowly and rigidly over some 99% of its mass. We applied the same approach to the three other GW Vir pulsators with available rotational splitting data, and found similar results. We discuss the implications of these findings on the question of the angular momentum of white dwarfs resulting from single star evolution.

THE HYADES CLUSTER: IDENTIFICATION OF A PLANETARY SYSTEM AND ESCAPING WHITE DWARFS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zuckerman, B.; Xu, S.; Klein, B.; Jura, M.

2013-01-01

Recently, some hot DA-type white dwarfs have been proposed to plausibly be escaping members of the Hyades. We used hydrogen Balmer lines to measure the radial velocities of seven such stars and confirm that three, and perhaps two others, are/were indeed cluster members and one is not. The other candidate Hyad is strongly magnetic and its membership status remains uncertain. The photospheres of at least one quarter of field white dwarf stars are ''polluted'' by elements heavier than helium that have been accreted. These stars are orbited by extended planetary systems that contain both debris belts and major planets. We surveyed the seven classical single Hyades white dwarfs and the newly identified (escaping) Hyades white dwarfs and found calcium in the photosphere of LP 475-242 of type DBA (now DBAZ), thus implying the presence of an orbiting planetary system. The spectrum of white dwarf GD 31, which may be, but probably is not, an escaping member of the Hyades, displays calcium absorption lines; these originate either from the interstellar medium or, less likely, from a gaseous circumstellar disk. If GD 31 was once a Hyades member, then it would be the first identified white dwarf Hyad with a cooling age >340 Myr.

Constraining convection parameters from the light curve shapes of pulsating white dwarf stars: the cases of EC 14012-1446 and WD 1524-0030

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Handler, G; Lendl, M; Beck, P [Institut fuer Astronomie, Universitaet Wien, Tuerkenschanzstrasse 17, A-1180 Wien (Austria); Provencal, J L; Montgomery, M H [Mt. Cuba Observatory and Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Delaware, 223 Sharp Laboratory, Newark, DE 19716 (Cuba); Romero-Colmenero, E [South AfricAN Astronomical Observatory, PO Box 9, Observatory 7935 (South Africa); Sanchawala, K; Chen, W-P [Graduate Institute of Astronomy, National Central University, Chung-Li 32054, Taiwan (China); Wood, M A; Silver, I [Department of Physics and Space Sciences and SARA Observatory, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL 32901 (United States)], E-mail: handler@astro.univie.ac.at

2008-10-15

Montgomery [1] developed a method to probe convection in pulsating white dwarf stars which allows the recovery of the thermal response time of the convection zone by fitting observed nonsinusoidal light curves. He applied this method to two objects; the Whole Earth Telescope (WET) observed the pulsating DB white dwarf GD 358 for just this purpose. Given this WET run's success, it is time to extend Montgomery's method to pulsating DA white dwarf (ZZ Ceti) stars. We present observations of two ZZ Ceti stars, WD 1524-0030 and EC 14012-1446, both observed from multiple sites. EC 14012-1446 seems better suited thAN WD1524-0030 for a future WET run because it has more pulsation modes excited and because it pulsation spectrum appears to be more stable in time. We call for participation in this effort to take place in April 2008.

White dwarf atmospheres and circumstellar environments

CERN Document Server

Hoard, Donald W

2012-01-01

Written by selected astronomers at the forefront of their fields, this timely and novel book compiles the latest results from research on white dwarf stars, complementing existing literature by focusing on fascinating new developments in our understanding of the atmospheric and circumstellar environments of these stellar remnants. Complete with a thorough refresher on the observational characteristics and physical basis for white dwarf classification, this is a must-have resource for researchers interested in the late stages of stellar evolution, circumstellar dust and nebulae, and the future

Generalized uncertainty principle and the maximum mass of ideal white dwarfs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rashidi, Reza, E-mail: reza.rashidi@srttu.edu

2016-11-15

The effects of a generalized uncertainty principle on the structure of an ideal white dwarf star is investigated. The equation describing the equilibrium configuration of the star is a generalized form of the Lane–Emden equation. It is proved that the star always has a finite size. It is then argued that the maximum mass of such an ideal white dwarf tends to infinity, as opposed to the conventional case where it has a finite value.

KNOW YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD: A DETAILED MODEL ATMOSPHERE ANALYSIS OF NEARBY WHITE DWARFS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Giammichele, N.; Bergeron, P. [Kitt Peak National Observatory, National Optical Astronomy Observatory, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) under cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation (United States); Dufour, P., E-mail: noemi.giammichele@astro.umontreal.ca, E-mail: pierre.bergeron@astro.umontreal.ca, E-mail: patrick.dufour@astro.umontreal.ca [Departement de Physique, Universite de Montreal, C.P. 6128, Succ. Centre-Ville, Montreal, Quebec H3C 3J7 (Canada)

2012-04-01

We present improved atmospheric parameters of nearby white dwarfs lying within 20 pc of the Sun. The aim of the current study is to obtain the best statistical model of the least-biased sample of the white dwarf population. A homogeneous analysis of the local population is performed combining detailed spectroscopic and photometric analyses based on improved model atmosphere calculations for various spectral types including DA, DB, DC, DQ, and DZ stars. The spectroscopic technique is applied to all stars in our sample for which optical spectra are available. Photometric energy distributions, when available, are also combined to trigonometric parallax measurements to derive effective temperatures, stellar radii, as well as atmospheric compositions. A revised catalog of white dwarfs in the solar neighborhood is presented. We provide, for the first time, a comprehensive analysis of the mass distribution and the chemical distribution of white dwarf stars in a volume-limited sample.

Nonvalidity of I-Love-Q Relations for Hot White Dwarf Stars

Science.gov (United States)

Boshkayev, K.; Quevedo, H.

2018-05-01

The equilibrium configurations of uniformly rotating white dwarfs at finite temperatures are investigated, exploiting the Chandrasekhar equation of state for different isothermal cores. The Hartle-Thorne formalism is applied to construct white dwarf configurations in the framework of Newtonian physics. The equations of structure are considered in the slow rotation approximation and all basic parameters of rotating hot white dwarfs are computed to test the so-called moment of inertia, tidal Love number and quadrupole moment (I-Love-Q) relations. It is shown that even within the same equation of state the I-Love-Q relations are not universal for white dwarfs at finite temperatures.

Detection of photospheric calcium in a DBA white dwarf

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kenyon, S.J.; Shipman, H.L.; Sion, E.M.; Aannestad, P.A.

1988-01-01

The detection of photospheric calcium absorption lines in the white dwarf star G200-39 (DBAZ4) is reported. The abundance of calcium relative to that of hydrogen is approximately solar, a result which lends support to the hypothesis that accretion of interstellar matter is responsible for hybrid composition white dwarfs. 21 references

Binary Star Orbits. V. The Nearby White Dwarf/Red Dwarf Pair 40 Eri BC

Science.gov (United States)

Mason, Brian D.; Hartkopf, William I.; Miles, Korie N.

2017-11-01

A new relative orbit solution with new dynamical masses is determined for the nearby white dwarf-red dwarf pair 40 Eri BC. The period is 230.09 ± 0.68 years. It is predicted to close slowly over the next half-century, getting as close as 1.″32 in early 2066. We determine masses of 0.575 ± 0.018 {{ M }}⊙ for the white dwarf and 0.2041 ± 0.0064 {{ M }}⊙ for the red dwarf companion. The inconsistency of the masses determined by gravitational redshift and dynamical techniques, due to a premature orbit calculation, no longer exists.

The population of single and binary white dwarfs of the Galactic bulge

Science.gov (United States)

Torres, S.; García-Berro, E.; Cojocaru, R.; Calamida, A.

2018-05-01

Recent Hubble Space Telescope observations have unveiled the white dwarf cooling sequence of the Galactic bulge. Although the degenerate sequence can be well fitted employing the most up-to-date theoretical cooling sequences, observations show a systematic excess of red objects that cannot be explained by the theoretical models of single carbon-oxygen white dwarfs of the appropriate masses. Here, we present a population synthesis study of the white dwarf cooling sequence of the Galactic bulge that takes into account the populations of both single white dwarfs and binary systems containing at least one white dwarf. These calculations incorporate state-of-the-art cooling sequences for white dwarfs with hydrogen-rich and hydrogen-deficient atmospheres, for both white dwarfs with carbon-oxygen and helium cores, and also take into account detailed prescriptions of the evolutionary history of binary systems. Our Monte Carlo simulator also incorporates all the known observational biases. This allows us to model with a high degree of realism the white dwarf population of the Galactic bulge. We find that the observed excess of red stars can be partially attributed to white dwarf plus main sequence binaries, and to cataclysmic variables or dwarf novae. Our best fit is obtained with a higher binary fraction and an initial mass function slope steeper than standard values, as well as with the inclusion of differential reddening and blending. Our results also show that the possible contribution of double degenerate systems or young and thick-discbulge stars is negligible.

Lyman series profiles: From laser-plasmas to white dwarf stars

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kielkopf, J.F. [University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky 40292 (United States); Allard, N.F. [Observatoire de Paris-Meudon, France and Institut d Astrophysique, Paris (France)

1999-04-01

The low energy interactions of neutral and ionized hydrogen atoms are fundamental processes which also have important applications to the diagnostics of laboratory and astrophysical plasmas. Satellites in the far wings of Lyman {alpha} and Lyman {beta} have been identified as ultraviolet absorption features in the spectra of white dwarf and {lambda} Bootis stars, and they are seen in the emission spectra of plasmas produced when a pulsed laser excites a target H{sub 2} gas. The observed Lyman series profiles agree with unified line shape theory which includes variation of the dipole transition moment during the radiative collision. {copyright} {ital 1999 American Institute of Physics.}

Skylab ultraviolet stellar spectra - A new white dwarf, HD 149499 B

Science.gov (United States)

Parsons, S. B.; Wray, J. D.; Benedict, G. F.; Henize, K. G.; Laget, M.

1976-01-01

The letter reports the discovery of a cool star with excess brightness in the vacuum ultraviolet on an objective-prism photograph obtained during the second Skylab mission. This star, HD 149499, is of type K0 V and has a companion with an apparent magnitude of about 11.8; the relatively flat UV spectrum observed at the position of HD 149499 is characteristic of a 10th or 11th magnitude unreddened O- or early B-type star. It is shown that the excess VUV brightness is due to the companion, HD 149499B, which probably lies in the region of the H-R diagram occupied by the hot white dwarfs. Inspection of white dwarf lists indicates that this star is the sixth or seventh brightest white dwarf known. A maximum orbital motion of 0.025 arcsec/yr is estimated along with a period of just under 500 yr.

The white dwarf luminosity function - A possible probe of the galactic halo

Science.gov (United States)

Tamanaha, Christopher M.; Silk, Joseph; Wood, M. A.; Winget, D. E.

1990-01-01

The dynamically inferred dark halo mass density, amounting to above 0.01 solar masses/cu pc at the sun's Galactocentric radius, can be composed of faint white dwarfs provided that the halo formed in a sufficiently early burst of star formation. The model is constrained by the observed disk white dwarf luminosity function which falls off below log (L/solar L) = -4.4, due to the onset of star formation in the disk. By using a narrow range for the initial mass function and an exponentially decaying halo star formation rate with an e-folding time equal to the free-fall time, all the halo dark matter is allowed to be in cool white dwarfs which lie beyond the falloff in the disk luminosity function. Although it is unlikely that all the dark matter is in these dim white dwarfs, a definite signature in the low-luminosity end of the white dwarf luminosity function is predicted even if they comprise only 1 percent of the dark matter. Current CCD surveys should answer the question of the existence of this population within the next few years.

Measuring the surface inhomogeneity of metals on accreting white dwarfs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Montgomery, M H; Hippel, T von; Thompson, S E

2009-01-01

Due to the short settling times of metals in DA white dwarf atmospheres, any white dwarfs with photospheric metals must be actively accreting. It is therefore natural to expect that the metals may not be deposited uniformly on the surface of the star. We present calculations showing how the temperature variations associated with white dwarf pulsations lead to an observable diagnostic of the surface metal distribution, and we show what constraints current data sets are able to provide.

Hubble Space Telescope observations of cool white dwarf stars: Detection of new species of heavy elements

Science.gov (United States)

Shipman, Harry; Barnhill, Maurice; Provencal, Judi; Roby, Scott; Bues, Irmela; Cordova, France; Hammond, Gordon; Hintzen, Paul; Koester, Detlev; Liebert, James

1995-01-01

Observations of cool white dwarf stars with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) has uncovered a number of spectral features from previouslly unobserved species. In this paper we present the data on four cool white dwarfs. We present identifications, equivalent width measurements, and brief summaries of the significance of our findings. The four stars observed are GD 40 (DBZ3, G 74-7 (DAZ), L 745-46A (DZ), and LDS 749B (DBA). Many additional species of heavey elements were detected in GD 40 and G 74-7. In L 745-46A, while the detections are limited to Fe 1, Fe II, and Mg II, the quality of the Mg II h and K line profiles should permit a test of the line broadening theories, which are so crucial to abundance determinations. The clear detection of Mg II h and k in LDS 749 B should, once an abundance determination is made, provide a clear test of the hypothesis that the DBA stars are the result of accretion from the interstellar medium. This star contains no other clear features other than a tantalizing hint of C II 1335 with a P Cygni profile, and some expected He 1 lines.

White dwarfs and revelations

Science.gov (United States)

Saltas, Ippocratis D.; Sawicki, Ignacy; Lopes, Ilidio

2018-05-01

We use the most recent, complete and independent measurements of masses and radii of white dwarfs in binaries to bound the class of non-trivial modified gravity theories, viable after GW170817/GRB170817, using its effect on the mass-radius relation of the stars. We show that the uncertainty in the latest data is sufficiently small that residual evolutionary effects, most notably the effect of core composition, finite temperature and envelope structure, must now accounted for if correct conclusions about the nature of gravity are to be made. We model corrections resulting from finite temperature and envelopes to a base Hamada-Salpeter cold equation of state and derive consistent bounds on the possible modifications of gravity in the stars' interiors, finding that the parameter quantifying the strength of the modification Y< 0.14 at 95% confidence, an improvement of a factor of three with respect to previous bounds. Finally, our analysis reveals some fundamental degeneracies between the theory of gravity and the precise chemical makeup of white dwarfs.

A large oxygen-dominated core from the seismic cartography of a pulsating white dwarf.

Science.gov (United States)

Giammichele, N; Charpinet, S; Fontaine, G; Brassard, P; Green, E M; Van Grootel, V; Bergeron, P; Zong, W; Dupret, M-A

2018-02-01

White-dwarf stars are the end product of stellar evolution for most stars in the Universe. Their interiors bear the imprint of fundamental mechanisms that occur during stellar evolution. Moreover, they are important chronometers for dating galactic stellar populations, and their mergers with other white dwarfs now appear to be responsible for producing the type Ia supernovae that are used as standard cosmological candles. However, the internal structure of white-dwarf stars-in particular their oxygen content and the stratification of their cores-is still poorly known, because of remaining uncertainties in the physics involved in stellar modelling codes. Here we report a measurement of the radial chemical stratification (of oxygen, carbon and helium) in the hydrogen-deficient white-dwarf star KIC08626021 (J192904.6+444708), independently of stellar-evolution calculations. We use archival data coupled with asteroseismic sounding techniques to determine the internal constitution of this star. We find that the oxygen content and extent of its core exceed the predictions of existing models of stellar evolution. The central homogeneous core has a mass of 0.45 solar masses, and is composed of about 86 per cent oxygen by mass. These values are respectively 40 per cent and 15 per cent greater than those expected from typical white-dwarf models. These findings challenge present theories of stellar evolution and their constitutive physics, and open up an avenue for calibrating white-dwarf cosmochronology.

Chandra Grating Spectroscopy of Three Hot White Dwarfs

Science.gov (United States)

Adamczak, J.; Werner, K.; Rauch, T.; Schuh, S.; Drake, J. J.; Kruk, J. W.

2013-01-01

High-resolution soft X-ray spectroscopic observations of single hot white dwarfs are scarce. With the Chandra Low-Energy Transmission Grating, we have observed two white dwarfs, one is of spectral type DA (LB1919) and the other is a non-DA of spectral type PG1159 (PG1520+525). The spectra of both stars are analyzed, together with an archival Chandra spectrum of another DA white dwarf (GD246). Aims. The soft X-ray spectra of the two DA white dwarfs are investigated in order to study the effect of gravitational settling and radiative levitation of metals in their photospheres. LB1919 is of interest because it has a significantly lower metallicity than DAs with otherwise similar atmospheric parameters. GD246 is the only white dwarf known that shows identifiable individual iron lines in the soft X-ray range. For the PG1159 star, a precise effective temperature determination is performed in order to confine the position of the blue edge of the GW Vir instability region in the HRD. Methods. The Chandra spectra are analyzed with chemically homogeneous as well as stratified NLTE model atmospheres that assume equilibrium between gravitational settling and radiative acceleration of chemical elements. Archival EUV and UV spectra obtained with EUVE, FUSE, and HST are utilized to support the analysis. Results. No metals could be identified in LB1919. All observations are compatible with a pure hydrogen atmosphere. This is in stark contrast to the vast majority of hot DA white dwarfs that exhibit light and heavy metals and to the stratified models that predict significant metal abundances in the atmosphere. For GD246 we find that neither stratified nor homogeneous models can fit the Chandra spectrum. The Chandra spectrum of PG1520+525 constrains the effective temperature to T(sub eff) = 150 000 +/- 10 000 K. Therefore, this nonpulsating star together with the pulsating prototype of the GWVir class (PG1159-035) defines the location of the blue edge of the GWVir instability region

White Dwarfs in the HET Dark Energy Experiment

Science.gov (United States)

Castanheira, B. G.; Winget, D. E.; Williams, K.; Montgomery, M. H.; Falcon, R. E.; Hermes, J. J.

2010-11-01

In the past decades, large scale surveys have discovered a large number of white dwarfs. For example, the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Data Release 7 [5] lists about 20 000 spectroscopically confirmed new white dwarfs. More than just a number, the new discoveries revealed different flavors of white dwarfs, including a new class of pulsators [7] and a larger percentage of stars with a magnetic field [4]. The HET Dark Energy Experiment (HETDEX) will use the 9.2 m Hobby-Eberly Telescope at McDonald Observatory and a set of 150 spectrographs to map the three-dimensional positions of one million galaxies. The main goal of the survey is to probe dark energy by observing the recent universe (2products. We expect to obtain spectra for about 10 000 white dwarfs in the next 3 to 4 years.

VizieR Online Data Catalog: Bright white dwarfs for high-speed photometry (Raddi+, 2017)

Science.gov (United States)

Raddi, R.; Gentile Fusillo, N. P.; Pala, A. F.; Hermes, J. J.; Gansicke, B. T.; Chote, P.; Hollands, M. A.; Henden, A.; Catalan, S.; Geier, S.; Koester, D.; Munari, U.; Napiwotzki, R.; Tremblay, P.-E.

2017-11-01

This photometric and reduced proper motion catalogue was created to identify suitable targets for the space-borne mission TESS, which will acquire all- sky time-series photometry for at least two years searching for exoplanet transits and enabling asteroseismology for numerous classes of stars. We cross-matched APASS, GALEX, 2MASS, and WISE, with PPMXL.The attached data include current-epoch positions and photometry of known white dwarfs, candidate white dwarfs, and new spectroscopically confirmed white dwarfs. For the new stars, we estimated the atmospheric parameters (temperature and surface gravity), masses, and ages. Nine white dwarfs have low mass secondaries, for which we estimate temperatures and ages. (6 data files).

The connection between period spectra and constraints in white dwarf asteroseismology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bischoff-Kim Agnès

2017-01-01

Full Text Available White dwarfs are the end product of evolution for around 98% of the stars in our Galaxy. Buried in their interiors are the records of physical processes that take place during earlier stages in the life of the star. In recent years, a well-established theory of non-radial oscillations, improved white dwarf models, year of expertise built up in the field of white dwarf asteroseismic fitting, and computing power have culminated in the asteroseismology finally delivering what it promised: a detailed map of the interior structure of white dwarfs. As always in science, new results raise new questions. We perform a number of numerical experiments to better understand the connection between a given set of periods varying in the number of periods and in the set of radial overtones and the quality of the constraints on interior structure one obtains from fitting these periods.

Constraining the neutrino magnetic dipole moment from white dwarf pulsations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Córsico, A.H.; Althaus, L.G.; Bertolami, M.M. Miller; Kepler, S.O.; García-Berro, E.

2014-01-01

Pulsating white dwarf stars can be used as astrophysical laboratories to constrain the properties of weakly interacting particles. Comparing the cooling rates of these stars with the expected values from theoretical models allows us to search for additional sources of cooling due to the emission of axions, neutralinos, or neutrinos with magnetic dipole moment. In this work, we derive an upper bound to the neutrino magnetic dipole moment (μ ν ) using an estimate of the rate of period change of the pulsating DB white dwarf star PG 1351+489. We employ state-of-the-art evolutionary and pulsational codes which allow us to perform a detailed asteroseismological period fit based on fully DB white dwarf evolutionary sequences. Plasmon neutrino emission is the dominant cooling mechanism for this class of hot pulsating white dwarfs, and so it is the main contributor to the rate of change of period with time (Pidot) for the DBV class. Thus, the inclusion of an anomalous neutrino emission through a non-vanishing magnetic dipole moment in these sequences notably influences the evolutionary timescales, and also the expected pulsational properties of the DBV stars. By comparing the theoretical Pidot value with the rate of change of period with time of PG 1351+489, we assess the possible existence of additional cooling by neutrinos with magnetic dipole moment. Our models suggest the existence of some additional cooling in this pulsating DB white dwarf, consistent with a non-zero magnetic dipole moment with an upper limit of μ ν  ∼< 10 -11  μ B . This bound is somewhat less restrictive than, but still compatible with, other limits inferred from the white dwarf luminosity function or from the color-magnitude diagram of the Globular cluster M5. Further improvements of the measurement of the rate of period change of the dominant pulsation mode of PG 1351+489 will be necessary to confirm our bound

THE WHITE DWARFS WITHIN 20 PARSECS OF THE SUN: KINEMATICS AND STATISTICS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sion, Edward M.; McCook, George P.; Wasatonic, Richard; Holberg, J. B.; Oswalt, Terry D.

2009-01-01

We present the kinematical properties, distribution of spectroscopic subtypes, and stellar population subcomponents of the white dwarfs within 20 pc of the Sun. We find no convincing evidence of halo white dwarfs in the total 20 pc sample of 129 white dwarfs nor is there convincing evidence of genuine thick disk subcomponent members within 20 parsecs. Virtually, the entire 20 pc sample likely belongs to the thin disk. The total DA to non-DA ratio of the 20 pc sample is 1.6, a manifestation of deepening envelope convection which transforms DA stars with sufficiently thin H surface layers into non-DAs. The addition of five new stars to the 20 pc sample yields a revised local space density of white dwarfs of (4.9 ± 0.5) x 10 -3 pc -3 and a corresponding mass density of (3.3 ± 0.3) x 10 -3 M sun pc -3 . We find that at least 15% of the white dwarfs within 20 parsecs of the Sun (the DAZ and DZ stars) have photospheric metals that possibly originate from accretion of circumstellar material (debris disks) around them. If this interpretation is correct, this suggests the possibility that the same percentage have planets or asteroid-like bodies orbiting them.

NUCLEAR CONDENSATE AND HELIUM WHITE DWARFS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bedaque, Paulo F.; Berkowitz, Evan [Maryland Center for Fundamental Physics, Department of Physics, University of Maryland, College Park, MD (United States); Cherman, Aleksey, E-mail: bedaque@umd.edu, E-mail: evanb@umd.edu, E-mail: a.cherman@damtp.cam.ac.uk [Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0WA (United Kingdom)

2012-04-10

We consider a high-density region of the helium phase diagram, where the nuclei form a Bose-Einstein condensate rather than a classical plasma or a crystal. Helium in this phase may be present in helium-core white dwarfs. We show that in this regime there is a new gapless quasiparticle not previously noticed, arising when the constraints imposed by gauge symmetry are taken into account. The contribution of this quasiparticle to the specific heat of a white dwarf core turns out to be comparable in a range of temperatures to the contribution from the particle-hole excitations of the degenerate electrons. The specific heat in the condensed phase is two orders of magnitude smaller than in the uncondensed plasma phase, which is the ground state at higher temperatures, and four orders of magnitude smaller than the specific heat that an ion lattice would provide, if formed. Since the specific heat of the core is an important input for setting the rate of cooling of a white dwarf star, it may turn out that such a change in the thermal properties of the cores of helium white dwarfs has observable implications.

NUCLEAR CONDENSATE AND HELIUM WHITE DWARFS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bedaque, Paulo F.; Berkowitz, Evan; Cherman, Aleksey

2012-01-01

We consider a high-density region of the helium phase diagram, where the nuclei form a Bose-Einstein condensate rather than a classical plasma or a crystal. Helium in this phase may be present in helium-core white dwarfs. We show that in this regime there is a new gapless quasiparticle not previously noticed, arising when the constraints imposed by gauge symmetry are taken into account. The contribution of this quasiparticle to the specific heat of a white dwarf core turns out to be comparable in a range of temperatures to the contribution from the particle-hole excitations of the degenerate electrons. The specific heat in the condensed phase is two orders of magnitude smaller than in the uncondensed plasma phase, which is the ground state at higher temperatures, and four orders of magnitude smaller than the specific heat that an ion lattice would provide, if formed. Since the specific heat of the core is an important input for setting the rate of cooling of a white dwarf star, it may turn out that such a change in the thermal properties of the cores of helium white dwarfs has observable implications.

Ages of evolved low mass stars: Central stars of planetary nebulae and white dwarfs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Costa R.D.D.

2013-03-01

Full Text Available We have developed several methods to estimate the ages of central stars of planetary nebulae (CSPN, which are based either on observed nebular properties or on data from the stars themselves. Our goal is to derive the age distribution of these stars and compare the results with empirical distributions for CSPN and white dwarfs. We have initially developed three methods based on nebular abundances, using (i an age-metallicity relation which is also a function of the galactocentric distance; (ii an age-metallicity relation obtained for the galactic disk, and (iii the central star masses derived from the observed nitrogen abundances. In this work we present two new, more accurate methods, which are based on kinematic properties: (I in this method, the expected rotation velocities of the nebulae around the galactic centre at their galactocentric distances are compared with the predicted values for the galactic rotation curve, and the differences are attributed to the different ages of the evolved stars; (II we determine directly the U, V, W, velocity components of the stars, as well as the velocity dispersions, and use the dispersion-age relation by the Geneva-Copenhagen survey. These methods were applied to two large samples of galactic CSPN. We conclude that most CSPN in the galactic disk have ages under 5 Gyr, and that the age distribution is peaked around 1 to 3 Gyr.

Grain temperature, radiation pressure and electric potential in the vicinity of main sequence and white dwarf stars

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Leiknes, J.; Havnes, O. (University of Tromso, Auroral Observatory (Norway))

1984-08-01

We present results of calculations of the grain physical parameters temperature, lifetime against evaporation, radiation pressure and electric potential for spherical grains near main sequence stars, hydrogen type (DA) white dwarfs and helium type (DB) white dwarfs. These parameters are essential in determining the behaviour of grains near such stars. The grain temperature as a function of stellar distance is calculated for grains of sizes 0.1 and 1 ..mu.. (micron) for grain materials of silicate (obsidian), iron and graphite. The lifetime due to thermal evaporation as a function of grain temperature of these materials is also given. The radiation pressure is given for grain sizes from 0.01 to 10 ..mu.. for the same three grain materials. Grain potentials have been calculated as functions of stellar distance for one photoelectron high yield material (silicate) and one low yield material (graphite) for grains of radius 0.1 ..mu.. embedded in a thermal plasma of temperature T = 10/sup 4/ K.

Double Degenerates among DA white dwarfs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bragaglia, A.; Greggio, L.; Renzini, A.; D'odorico, S.

1990-01-01

The results of a spectroscopic survey of catalog white dwarfs in search of radial velocity variations indicative of a binary motion are reported. In a sample of 54 DA white dwarfs, one Double Degenerate (DD) system with a period of 1.15 days (the shortest period DD system yet discovered) is found. Two other excellent and two good DD candidates, and two white dwarf + red dwarf pairs were also found. If all the candidates should be confirmed, this would indicate a frequency of about 13 percent of interacting binaries in an unbiased sample of evolved stars, with a DD frequency of about 10 percent. These results suggest fairly large values for the common-envelope parameter alpha, implying that a source of energy other than orbital may be required to eject the envelope during common-envelope events. Finally, in combination with previous evidence our result implies that DDs with WD components of the DA variety are unlikely to be the precursors of Type I supernovae, but DDs with non-DA components remain very attractive candidates. 20 refs

Mass loss, levitation, accretion, and the sharp-lined features in hot white dwarfs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bruhweiler, F.C.; Kondo, Y.

1983-01-01

We have studied eight white dwarfs, seven DA and one He-rich types, observed at a high resolution (lambda/Δlambdaroughly-equal10 4 ) with the International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE). Of the seven DA white dwarfs, three show spectral signatures of ionized heavy elements, such as Si II, SI III, C IV, Si IV, and N V, arising in the immediate environment of these stars. The shortward-shifted lines in two (G191--B2B and 2111+49) of the three DA types showing metallic lines are tentatively interpreted as an indication of mass loss from these stars. The He-rich white dwarf shows the features due to C cV and He II, which also arise in the immediate environment of that star. Although the statistical sample presented here is limited, we tentatively suggest a temperature and effective gravity range (T/sub eff/> or approx. =20,000 K and log (g) < or approx. =8.0) in DA white dwarfs within which metallic lines are present either in the photosphere or in the halo of the stars. We examine the physical processes relevant to the appearance of such metallic lines. We tentatively propose that radiative levitation can explain the appearance of the observed lines in the hot DA white dwarfs, although the role of radiation forces in mass loss is not clear

Magnetically gated accretion in an accreting 'non-magnetic' white dwarf.

Science.gov (United States)

Scaringi, S; Maccarone, T J; D'Angelo, C; Knigge, C; Groot, P J

2017-12-13

White dwarfs are often found in binary systems with orbital periods ranging from tens of minutes to hours in which they can accrete gas from their companion stars. In about 15 per cent of these binaries, the magnetic field of the white dwarf is strong enough (at 10 6 gauss or more) to channel the accreted matter along field lines onto the magnetic poles. The remaining systems are referred to as 'non-magnetic', because until now there has been no evidence that they have a magnetic field that is strong enough to affect the accretion dynamics. Here we report an analysis of archival optical observations of the 'non-magnetic' accreting white dwarf in the binary system MV Lyrae, whose light curve displays quasi-periodic bursts of about 30 minutes duration roughly every 2 hours. The timescale and amplitude of these bursts indicate the presence of an unstable, magnetically regulated accretion mode, which in turn implies the existence of magnetically gated accretion, in which disk material builds up around the magnetospheric boundary (at the co-rotation radius) and then accretes onto the white dwarf, producing bursts powered by the release of gravitational potential energy. We infer a surface magnetic field strength for the white dwarf in MV Lyrae of between 2 × 10 4 gauss and 1 × 10 5 gauss, too low to be detectable by other current methods. Our discovery provides a new way of studying the strength and evolution of magnetic fields in accreting white dwarfs and extends the connections between accretion onto white dwarfs, young stellar objects and neutron stars, for which similar magnetically gated accretion cycles have been identified.

X-ray survey of hot white dwarf stars - evidence for a m(He)/n(H) versus Teff correlation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Petre, R.; Shipman, H.L.; Canizares, C.R.

1986-05-01

Observations of 13 white dwarf and subdwarf stars using the Einstein Observatory High Resolution Image are reported. Included are stars of classes DA, DB, DAV, sDO, and sDB, with optically determined effective temperatures in the range 10,000-60,000 K. X-ray emission was detected from two of the 13: the very hot (55,000 K) DA1 star WD 2309 + 105 (= EG 233), with a count rate one-fifth that of HZ 43, and the relatively cool (26,000 K) DA3 star WD 1052 - 273 (=GD 125). The effective temperatures determined from ultraviolet and optical observations were used to place limits on the He content of the white dwarf photospheres, presuming that trace photospheric He is the missing opacity source which quenches the thermal X-rays in these stars. When presently obtained results were combined with those available from the literature evidence was found for a correlation between Teff and n(He)/n(H), in which HZ 43 is a conspicuous exception to the general trend. Both this correlation and the exceptional behavior of HZ 43 are qualitatively accounted for by a radiative acceleration model, in which the rate of upward movement of the He is a function of temperature and surface gravity 59 references.

Asteroseismology of white dwarf stars. I - Adiabatic results

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bradley, P.A.; Winget, D.E. (Texas, University (USA) McDonald Observatory, Austin (USA))

1991-02-01

A preliminary investigation of the asteroseismological properties of chemically stratified evolutionary DA and DB white dwarf models is reported. The period and kinetic energy distributions for nonradial g-modes of spherical harmonic indices l = 1-3 are computed in the adiabatic approximation, and the effects of varying the total stellar masss and the surface layer masses on the pulsation properties are studied using an extensive grid of models. Significant resonant mode trapping due to chemical stratification is found. Modes trapped in the outer layers have much lower kinetic energies; these minima also show up as minima in the period spacing between modes of consecutive radial overtone k. Mode trapping occurs at the same or nearly the same value of k for different l-values. Thus, l-values of trapped modes may be identified on the basis of their period ratios. It is shown that observational identification of these period ratios can be used to constrain the mass of the star and its surface layer. 68 refs.

TOWARD A SPECTROSCOPIC CENSUS OF WHITE DWARFS WITHIN 40 pc OF THE SUN

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Limoges, M.-M.; Bergeron, P.; Lépine, S.

2013-01-01

We present the preliminary results of a survey aimed at significantly increasing the range and completeness of the local census of spectroscopically confirmed white dwarfs. The current census of nearby white dwarfs is reasonably complete only to about 20 pc of the Sun, a volume that includes around 130 white dwarfs, a sample too small for detailed statistical analyses. This census is largely based on follow-up investigations of stars with very large proper motions. We describe here the basis of a method that will lead to a catalog of white dwarfs within 40 pc of the Sun and north of the celestial equator, thus increasing by a factor of eight the extent of the northern sky census. White dwarf candidates are identified from the SUPERBLINK proper motion database, allowing us to investigate stars down to a proper motion limit μ > 40 mas yr –1 , while minimizing the kinematic bias for nearby objects. The selection criteria and distance estimates are based on a combination of color-magnitude and reduced proper motion diagrams. Our follow-up spectroscopic observation campaign has so far uncovered 193 new white dwarfs, among which we identify 127 DA (including 9 DA+dM and 4 magnetic), 1 DB, 56 DC, 3 DQ, and 6 DZ stars. We perform a spectroscopic analysis on a subsample of 84 DAs, and provide their atmospheric parameters. In particular, we identify 11 new white dwarfs with spectroscopic distances within 25 pc of the Sun, including five candidates to the D < 20 pc subset.

ON THE EVOLUTION OF MAGNETIC WHITE DWARFS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tremblay, P.-E. [Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States); Fontaine, G.; Brassard, P. [Département de Physique, Université de Montréal, C. P. 6128, Succursale Centre-Ville, Montréal, QC H3C 3J7 (Canada); Freytag, B. [Department of Physics and Astronomy at Uppsala University, Regementsvägen 1, Box 516, SE-75120 Uppsala (Sweden); Steiner, O. [Kiepenheuer-Institut für Sonnenphysik, Schöneckstr. 6, D-79104 Freiburg (Germany); Ludwig, H.-G. [Zentrum für Astronomie der Universität Heidelberg, Landessternwarte, Königstuhl 12, D-69117 Heidelberg (Germany); Steffen, M. [Leibniz-Institut für Astrophysik Potsdam, An der Sternwarte 16, D-14482 Potsdam (Germany); Wedemeyer, S., E-mail: tremblay@stsci.edu [Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1029 Blindern, NO-0315 Oslo (Norway)

2015-10-10

We present the first radiation magnetohydrodynamic simulations of the atmosphere of white dwarf stars. We demonstrate that convective energy transfer is seriously impeded by magnetic fields when the plasma-β parameter, the thermal-to-magnetic-pressure ratio, becomes smaller than unity. The critical field strength that inhibits convection in the photosphere of white dwarfs is in the range B = 1–50 kG, which is much smaller than the typical 1–1000 MG field strengths observed in magnetic white dwarfs, implying that these objects have radiative atmospheres. We have employed evolutionary models to study the cooling process of high-field magnetic white dwarfs, where convection is entirely suppressed during the full evolution (B ≳ 10 MG). We find that the inhibition of convection has no effect on cooling rates until the effective temperature (T{sub eff}) reaches a value of around 5500 K. In this regime, the standard convective sequences start to deviate from the ones without convection due to the convective coupling between the outer layers and the degenerate reservoir of thermal energy. Since no magnetic white dwarfs are currently known at the low temperatures where this coupling significantly changes the evolution, the effects of magnetism on cooling rates are not expected to be observed. This result contrasts with a recent suggestion that magnetic white dwarfs with T{sub eff} ≲ 10,000 K cool significantly slower than non-magnetic degenerates.

White Dwarf.Org - Establishing a Permanent Endowment for the Whole Earth Telescope

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Metcalfe Travis S.

2003-06-01

Full Text Available White Dwarf Research Corporation is a non-profit organization dedicated to scientific research and public education on topics relevant to white dwarf stars. It was founded in 1999 in Austin, Texas to help fulfill the need for an alternative research center where scarce funding dollars could be used more efficiently, and to provide a direct link between astronomers who study white dwarf stars and the general public. Due to its administrative simplicity, WDRC can facilitate the funding of multi-institutional and international collaborations, provide seamless grant portability, minimize overhead rates, and actively seek non-governmental funding sources. I describe the motivation for, and current status of, one of the long-term goals of WDRC: to establish a permanent endowment for the operation of the Whole Earth Telescope. I pay particular attention to fund-raising efforts through the website at http://WhiteDwarf.org/donate/.

Population Synthesis Studies of the White Dwarfs of the Galactic Disk and Halo

Science.gov (United States)

Cojocaru, Elena-Ruxandra

2016-09-01

White dwarfs are fossil stars that can encode valuable information about the formation, evolution and other properties of the different Galactic stellar populations. They are the direct descendants of main-sequence stars with masses ranging from ∼0.8 M⊙ to ∼10 M⊙, which means that over 95% of the stars in our Galaxy will eventually become white dwarfs. This fact, correlated with the excellent quality of modern white dwarf cooling models, clearly marks their potential as cosmic clocks for estimating the ages of Galactic stellar populations, as well as place white dwarfs as privileged objects in understanding several actual astrophysical problems. Stellar population synthesis methods (Tinsley, 1968) use theoretical evolutionary sequences to reproduce luminosities, temperatures and other parameters building up to a synthetic population that can be readily compared to an observed sample of stars. Such techniques are perfect for the study of the different white dwarf populations in our Galaxy and their strength has only grown in recent years, fueled both by improved evolutionary sequences and detailed cooling tracks and also by the ever growing samples of white dwarfs identified through modern survey missions. In particular, the work presented in this thesis uses an updated population synthesis code based on previous versions of the code from our group (García-Berro et al., 1999; Torres et al., 2002; García-Berro et al., 2004; Torres et al., 2005; Camacho et al., 2014). Our synthetic population code, based on Monte Carlo statistical techniques, has been extensively used in the study of the disk (García-Berro et al., 1! 999; Torres et al., 2001; Torres & García-Berro, 2016) and halo (Torres et al., 2002; García-Berro et al., 2004) single white-dwarf population, white dwarf plus main sequence stars (Camacho et al., 2014), as well as open clusters such as NGC 6791 (García-Berro et al., 2010; García-Berro et al., 2011) or globular clusters, as 47 Tuc (Garc

Evolutionary period changes in rotating hot pre--white dwarf stars

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kawaler, S.D.; Winget, D.E.; Hansen, C.J.

1985-11-15

We have calculated and splitting of high order nonradial g-modes due to slow rotation in models of hot pre-white dwarf (''PWD'') stars of 0.60 M/sub sun/. We have investigated the effects of rotational spin-up, produced by gravitational contraction, on the rate of evolutionary period change for the cases of uniform and differential rotation. For models in the luminosity range of PG 1159-035 (Lapprox.100 L/sub sun/), we find that rotation rates of a few thousand seconds for modes with m< or approx. =-2 produce values of d(ln P)/dt that are consistent with the measurement of the rate of period change of the 516 second period of PG 1159-035.

An atlas of optical spectra of DZ white dwarfs and related objects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sion, E.M.; Kenyon, S.J.; Aannestad, P.A.

1990-01-01

An atlas of optical spectra and equivalent width measurements for DZ stars and several related objects is described. These data should improve abundance measurements for Ca/He, Mg/He, and Fe/He in these stars and provide tests for calculations of accretion, diffusion, and radiative transfer in white-dwarf atmospheres. Also reported is the possible detection of He I (3888-A) in three DZ white dwarfs, 0246 + 735, 1705 + 030, and 2215 + 388. 25 refs

NEW EVOLUTIONARY SEQUENCES FOR HOT H-DEFICIENT WHITE DWARFS ON THE BASIS OF A FULL ACCOUNT OF PROGENITOR EVOLUTION

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Althaus, L. G.; Panei, J. A.; Miller Bertolami, M. M.; Corsico, A. H.; Romero, A. D.; Garcia-Berro, E.; Kepler, S. O.; Rohrmann, R. D.

2009-01-01

We present full evolutionary calculations appropriate for the study of hot hydrogen-deficient DO white dwarfs, PG 1159 stars, and DB white dwarfs. White dwarf sequences are computed for a wide range of stellar masses and helium envelopes on the basis of a complete treatment of the evolutionary history of progenitors stars, including the core hydrogen and helium burning phases, the thermally pulsing asymptotic giant branch phase, and the born-again episode that is responsible for the hydrogen deficiency. We also provide colors and magnitudes for the new sequences for T eff < 40,000 K, where the NLTE effects are not dominant. These new calculations provide a homogeneous set of evolutionary tracks appropriate for mass and age determinations for both PG 1159 stars and DO white dwarfs. The calculations are extended down to an effective temperature of 7000 K. We applied these new tracks to redetermine stellar masses and ages of all known DO white dwarfs with spectroscopically determined effective temperatures and gravities, and compare them with previous results. We also compare for the first time consistent mass determinations for both DO and PG 1159 stars, and find a considerably higher mean mass for the DO white dwarfs. We discuss as well the chemical profile expected in the envelope of variable DB white dwarfs from the consideration of the evolutionary history of progenitor stars. Finally, we present tentative evidence for a different evolutionary channel, other than that involving the PG 1159 stars, for the formation of hot, hydrogen-deficient white dwarfs.

PREFACE: 16th European White Dwarfs Workshop

Science.gov (United States)

Garcia-Berro, Enrique; Hernanz, Margarita; Isern, Jordi; Torres, Santiago

2009-07-01

The 16th European Workshop on White Dwarfs was held in Barcelona, Spain, from 30 June to 4 July 2008 at the premises of the UPC. Almost 120 participants from Europe (France, Germany, United Kingdom, Italy, and several others), America (USA, Canada, Argentina, Brazil, and Chile), and other continents (Australia, South Africa, . . . ) attended the workshop. Among these participants were the most relevant specialists in the field. The topics covered by the conference were: White dwarf structure and evolution Progenitors and Planetary Nebulae White dwarfs in binaries: cataclysmic variables, double degenerates and other binaries White dwarfs, dust disks and planetary systems Atmospheres, chemical composition, magnetic fields Variable white dwarfs White dwarfs in stellar clusters and the halo White Dwarfs as SNIa progenitors The programme included 54 talks, and 45 posters. The oral presentations were distributed into the following sessions: Luminosity function, mass function and populations White dwarf structure and evolution White dwarf ages White dwarf catalogs and surveys Central stars of planetary nebulae Supernovae progenitors White dwarfs in novae and CVs Physical processes in white dwarfs and magnetic white dwarfs Disks, dust and planets around white dwarfs Pulsating white dwarfs Additionally we had a special open session about Spitzer and white dwarfs. The Proceedings of the 16th European Workshop on White Dwarfs are representative of the current state-of-the-art of the research field and include new and exciting results. We acknowledge the very positive attitude of the attendants to the workshop, which stimulated very fruitful discussions that took place in all the sessions and after the official schedule. Also, the meeting allowed new collaborations tp start that will undoubtedly result in significant advances in the research field. We also acknowledge the willingness of the participants to deliver their contributions before the final deadline. We sincerely

Asteroseismology of DAV white dwarf stars and G29–38

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Yan-Hui; Li Yan

2013-01-01

Asteroseismology is a powerful tool used for detecting the inner structure of stars, which is also widely used to study white dwarfs. We discuss the asteroseismology of DAV stars. The period-to-period fitting method is discussed in detail, including its reliability in detecting the inner structure of DAV stars. If we assume that all observed modes of some DAV stars are the l = 1 cases, the errors associated with model fitting will be always large. If we assume that the observed modes are composed of l = 1 and 2 modes, the errors associated with model fitting in this case will be small. However, there will be modes identified as l = 2 that do not have observed quintuplets. G29–38 has been observed spectroscopically and photometrically for many years. Thompson et al. made l modes identifications in the star through the limb darkening effect. With 11 known l modes, we also study the asteroseismology of G29–38, which reduces the blind l fittings and is a fair choice. Unfortunately, our two best-fitting models are not in line with the previous atmospheric results. Based on factors like only a few observed modes, stability and identification of eigenmodes, identification of spherical degrees, construction of physical and realistic models and so on, detecting the inner structure of DAV stars by asteroseismology needs further development

Fate of accreting white dwarfs: Type I supernovae vs collapse

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nomoto, Ken'ichi.

1986-01-01

The final fate of accreting C + O white dwarfs is either thermonuclear explosion or collapse, if the white dwarf mass grows to the Chandrasekhar mass. We discuss how the fate depends on the initial mass, age, composition of the white dwarf and the mass accretion rate. Relatively fast accretion leads to a carbon deflagration at low central density that gives rise to a Type Ia supernova. Slower accretion induces a helium detonation that could be observed as a Type Ib supernova. If the initial mass of the C + O white dwarf is larger than 1.2 Msub solar, a carbon deflagration starts at high central density and induces a collapse of the white dwarf to form a neutron star. We examine the critical condition for which a carbon deflagration leads to collapse, not explosion. For the case of explosion, we discuss to what extent the nucleosynthesis models are consistent with spectra of Type Ia and Ib supernovae. 61 refs., 18 figs

Stark Broadening of Carbon and Oxygen Lines in Hot DQ White Dwarf Stars: Recent Results and Applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dufour P.

2011-12-01

Full Text Available White dwarf stars are traditionally found to have surface compositions made primarily of hydrogen or helium. However, a new family has recently been uncovered, the so-called hot DQ white dwarfs, which have surface compositions dominated by carbon and oxygen with little or no trace of hydrogen and helium (Dufour et al. 2007, 2008, 2010. Deriving precise atmospheric parameters for these objects (such as the effective temperature and the surface gravity requires detailed modeling of spectral line profiles. Stark broadening parameters are of crucial importance in that context. We present preliminary results from our new generation of model atmospheres including the latest Stark broadening calculations for C II lines and discuss the implications as well as future work that remains to be done.

An X-ray survey of hot white dwarf stars - Evidence for a m(He)/n(H) versus Teff correlation

Science.gov (United States)

Petre, R.; Shipman, H. L.; Canizares, C. R.

1986-01-01

Observations of 13 white dwarf and subdwarf stars using the Einstein Observatory High Resolution Image are reported. Included are stars of classes DA, DB, DAV, sDO, and sDB, with optically determined effective temperatures in the range 10,000-60,000 K. X-ray emission was detected from two of the 13: the very hot (55,000 K) DA1 star WD 2309 + 105 (= EG 233), with a count rate one-fifth that of HZ 43, and the relatively cool (26,000 K) DA3 star WD 1052 - 273 (=GD 125). The effective temperatures determined from ultraviolet and optical observations were used to place limits on the He content of the white dwarf photospheres, presuming that trace photospheric He is the missing opacity source which quenches the thermal X-rays in these stars. When presently obtained results were combined with those available from the literature evidence was found for a correlation between Teff and n(He)/n(H), in which HZ 43 is a conspicuous exception to the general trend. Both this correlation and the exceptional behavior of HZ 43 are qualitatively accounted for by a radiative acceleration model, in which the rate of upward movement of the He is a function of temperature and surface gravity

Orbital circularisation of white dwarfs and the formation of gravitational radiation sources in star clusters containing an intermediate mass black hole

OpenAIRE

Ivanov, P. B.; Papaloizou, J. C. B.

2007-01-01

(abbreviated) We consider how tight binaries consisting of a super-massive black hole of mass $M=10^{3}-10^{4}M_{\\odot}$ and a white dwarf can be formed in a globular cluster. We point out that a major fraction of white dwarfs tidally captured by the black hole may be destroyed by tidal inflation during ongoing circularisation, and the formation of tight binaries is inhibited. However, some stars may survive being spun up to high rotation rates. Then the energy loss through gravitational wave...

Merger of white dwarf-neutron star binaries: Prelude to hydrodynamic simulations in general relativity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Paschalidis, Vasileios; MacLeod, Morgan; Baumgarte, Thomas W.; Shapiro, Stuart L.

2009-01-01

White dwarf-neutron star binaries generate detectable gravitational radiation. We construct Newtonian equilibrium models of corotational white dwarf-neutron star (WDNS) binaries in circular orbit and find that these models terminate at the Roche limit. At this point the binary will undergo either stable mass transfer (SMT) and evolve on a secular time scale, or unstable mass transfer (UMT), which results in the tidal disruption of the WD. The path a given binary will follow depends primarily on its mass ratio. We analyze the fate of known WDNS binaries and use population synthesis results to estimate the number of LISA-resolved galactic binaries that will undergo either SMT or UMT. We model the quasistationary SMT epoch by solving a set of simple ordinary differential equations and compute the corresponding gravitational waveforms. Finally, we discuss in general terms the possible fate of binaries that undergo UMT and construct approximate Newtonian equilibrium configurations of merged WDNS remnants. We use these configurations to assess plausible outcomes of our future, fully relativistic simulations of these systems. If sufficient WD debris lands on the NS, the remnant may collapse, whereby the gravitational waves from the inspiral, merger, and collapse phases will sweep from LISA through LIGO frequency bands. If the debris forms a disk about the NS, it may fragment and form planets.

THE HABITABILITY AND DETECTION OF EARTH-LIKE PLANETS ORBITING COOL WHITE DWARFS

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Fossati, L.; Haswell, C. A.; Patel, M. R.; Busuttil, R. [Department of Physical Sciences, Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA (United Kingdom); Bagnulo, S. [Armagh Observatory, College Hill, Armagh BT61 9DG (United Kingdom); Kowalski, P. M. [GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Telegrafenberg, D-14473 Potsdam (Germany); Shulyak, D. V. [Institute of Astrophysics, Georg-August-University, Friedrich-Hund-Platz 1, D-37077 Goettingen (Germany); Sterzik, M. F., E-mail: l.fossati@open.ac.uk, E-mail: C.A.Haswell@open.ac.uk, E-mail: M.R.Patel@open.ac.uk, E-mail: r.busuttil@open.ac.uk, E-mail: sba@arm.ac.uk, E-mail: kowalski@gfz-potsdam.de, E-mail: denis.shulyak@gmail.com, E-mail: msterzik@eso.org [European Southern Observatory, Casilla 19001, Santiago 19 (Chile)

2012-09-20

Since there are several ways planets can survive the giant phase of the host star, we examine the habitability and detection of planets orbiting white dwarfs. As a white dwarf cools from 6000 K to 4000 K, a planet orbiting at 0.01 AU would remain in the continuous habitable zone (CHZ) for {approx}8 Gyr. We show that photosynthetic processes can be sustained on such planets. The DNA-weighted UV radiation dose for an Earth-like planet in the CHZ is less than the maxima encountered on Earth, and hence non-magnetic white dwarfs are compatible with the persistence of complex life. Polarization due to a terrestrial planet in the CHZ of a cool white dwarf (CWD) is 10{sup 2} (10{sup 4}) times larger than it would be in the habitable zone of a typical M-dwarf (Sun-like star). Polarimetry is thus a viable way to detect close-in rocky planets around white dwarfs. Multi-band polarimetry would also allow us to reveal the presence of a planet atmosphere, providing a first characterization. Planets in the CHZ of a 0.6 M{sub Sun} white dwarf will be distorted by Roche geometry, and a Kepler-11d analog would overfill its Roche lobe. With current facilities a super-Earth-sized atmosphereless planet is detectable with polarimetry around the brightest known CWD. Planned future facilities render smaller planets detectable, in particular by increasing the instrumental sensitivity in the blue.

THE HABITABILITY AND DETECTION OF EARTH-LIKE PLANETS ORBITING COOL WHITE DWARFS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fossati, L.; Haswell, C. A.; Patel, M. R.; Busuttil, R.; Bagnulo, S.; Kowalski, P. M.; Shulyak, D. V.; Sterzik, M. F.

2012-01-01

Since there are several ways planets can survive the giant phase of the host star, we examine the habitability and detection of planets orbiting white dwarfs. As a white dwarf cools from 6000 K to 4000 K, a planet orbiting at 0.01 AU would remain in the continuous habitable zone (CHZ) for ∼8 Gyr. We show that photosynthetic processes can be sustained on such planets. The DNA-weighted UV radiation dose for an Earth-like planet in the CHZ is less than the maxima encountered on Earth, and hence non-magnetic white dwarfs are compatible with the persistence of complex life. Polarization due to a terrestrial planet in the CHZ of a cool white dwarf (CWD) is 10 2 (10 4 ) times larger than it would be in the habitable zone of a typical M-dwarf (Sun-like star). Polarimetry is thus a viable way to detect close-in rocky planets around white dwarfs. Multi-band polarimetry would also allow us to reveal the presence of a planet atmosphere, providing a first characterization. Planets in the CHZ of a 0.6 M ☉ white dwarf will be distorted by Roche geometry, and a Kepler-11d analog would overfill its Roche lobe. With current facilities a super-Earth-sized atmosphereless planet is detectable with polarimetry around the brightest known CWD. Planned future facilities render smaller planets detectable, in particular by increasing the instrumental sensitivity in the blue.

LP 400-22, A Very Low Mass and High-Velocity White Dwarf

Science.gov (United States)

Kawka, Adela; Vennes, Stephane; Oswalt, Terry D.; Smith, J. Allyn; Silvestri, Nicole M.

2006-01-01

We report the identification of LP 400-22 (WD 2234+222) as a very low mass and high-velocity white dwarf. The ultraviolet GALEX and optical photometric colors and a spectral line analysis of LP 400-22 show this star to have an effective temperature of 11,080+/-140 K and a surface gravity of log g = 6.32 +/-0.08. Therefore, this is a helium-core white dwarf with a mass of 0.17 M,. The tangential velocity of this white dwarf is 414+/-43 km/s, making it one of the fastest moving white dwarfs known. We discuss probable evolutionary scenarios for this remarkable object.

Star Formation in Dwarf-Dwarf Mergers: Fueling Hierarchical Assembly

Science.gov (United States)

Stierwalt, Sabrina; Johnson, K. E.; Kallivayalil, N.; Patton, D. R.; Putman, M. E.; Besla, G.; Geha, M. C.

2014-01-01

We present early results from the first systematic study a sample of isolated interacting dwarf pairs and the mechanisms governing their star formation. Low mass dwarf galaxies are ubiquitous in the local universe, yet the efficiency of gas removal and the enhancement of star formation in dwarfs via pre-processing (i.e. dwarf-dwarf interactions occurring before the accretion by a massive host) are currently unconstrained. Studies of Local Group dwarfs credit stochastic internal processes for their complicated star formation histories, but a few intriguing examples suggest interactions among dwarfs may produce enhanced star formation. We combine archival UV imaging from GALEX with deep optical broad- and narrow-band (Halpha) imaging taken with the pre- One Degree Imager (pODI) on the WIYN 3.5-m telescope and with the 2.3-m Bok telescope at Steward Observatory to confirm the presence of stellar bridges and tidal tails and to determine whether dwarf-dwarf interactions alone can trigger significant levels of star formation. We investigate star formation rates and global galaxy colors as a function of dwarf pair separation (i.e. the dwarf merger sequence) and dwarf-dwarf mass ratio. This project is a precursor to an ongoing effort to obtain high spatial resolution HI imaging to assess the importance of sequential triggering caused by dwarf-dwarf interactions and the subsequent affect on the more massive hosts that later accrete the low mass systems.

Charged condensate and helium dwarf stars

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gabadadze, Gregory; Rosen, Rachel A, E-mail: gg32@nyu.edu, E-mail: rar339@nyu.edu [Center for Cosmology and Particle Physics, Department of Physics, New York University, New York, NY 10003 (United States)

2008-10-15

White dwarf stars composed of carbon, oxygen and heavier elements are expected to crystallize as they cool down below certain temperatures. Yet, simple arguments suggest that the helium white dwarf cores may not solidify, mostly because of zero-point oscillations of the helium ions that would dissolve the crystalline structure. We argue that the interior of the helium dwarfs may instead form a macroscopic quantum state in which the charged helium-4 nuclei are in a Bose-Einstein condensate, while the relativistic electrons form a neutralizing degenerate Fermi liquid. We discuss the electric charge screening, and the spectrum of this substance, showing that the bosonic long-wavelength fluctuations exhibit a mass gap. Hence, there is a suppression at low temperatures of the boson contribution to the specific heat-the latter being dominated by the specific heat of the electrons near the Fermi surface. This state of matter may have observational signatures.

Rejuvenation of the Innocent Bystander: Testing Spin-Up in Dwarf Carbon Stars

Science.gov (United States)

Green, Paul

2013-09-01

Carbon stars (C>O) were long assumed to all be giants, because only AGB stars dredge up significant carbon into their atmospheres. We now know that dwarf carbon (dC) stars are actually far more common than C giants. These dCs are hypothesized to have accreted C-rich envelope material from an AGB companion, in systems that have likely undergone a planetary nebula phase, eventually yielding a white dwarf and a dC that has gained both significant mass and angular momentum. To test whether the X-ray emission strength and spectral properties are consistent with a rejuvenated dynamo, we propose a Chandra pilot study of dCs selected from the SDSS; some have hot white dwarf companions (indicating more recent mass transfer), and all show Balmer emission lines (a sign of activity).

The Masses and Evolutionary State of the Stars in the Dwarf Nova SS Cygni

Science.gov (United States)

Bitner, Martin A.; Robinson, Edward L.; Behr, Bradford B.

2007-06-01

The dwarf nova SS Cygni is a close binary star consisting of a K star transferring mass to a white dwarf by way of an accretion disk. We have obtained new spectroscopic observations of SS Cyg. Fits of synthetic spectra for Roche lobe-filling stars to the absorption-line spectrum of the K star yield the amplitude of the K star's radial velocity curve and the mass ratio, KK=162.5+/-1.0 km s-1 and q=MK/MWD=0.685+/-0.015. The fits also show that the accretion disk and white dwarf contribute a fraction f=0.535+/-0.075 of the total flux at 5500 Å. Taking the weighted average of our results with previously published results obtained using similar techniques, we find =163.7+/-0.7 km s-1 and =0.683+/-0.012. The orbital light curve of SS Cyg shows an ellipsoidal variation diluted by light from the disk and white dwarf. From an analysis of the ellipsoidal variations, we limit the orbital inclination to the range 45degAustin, the Pennsylvania State University, Stanford University, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, and Georg-August-Universität Göttingen.

Tidal interaction and coalescence of close binary white dwarfs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Webbink, R.F.; Iben, I. Jr.

1987-01-01

The physical processes which govern the interaction and final coalescence of close binary white dwarfs are examined. During the approach to mass transfer, the rate of accumulation of rotational energy by a white dwarf can exceed 10 to the 37th erg/s, raising the possibility that the initial phases of mass transfer are strongly influenced by tidal heating of the donor star. The potential energy released by accretion is incapable of removing more than a minor fraction of this material from the system, and numerical simulations show that the accreted envelope engulfs the donor star, leading to formation of common envelope binary before carbon can be ignited at the base of the accreted envelope. Unless shocks can lift the degeneracy of the donor core, a core mass exceeding the Chandrasekhar limit can be created, leading directly to core collapse and a supernova explosion, regardless of whether or not carbon is ignited in the nondegenerate envelope. It is plausible that most of the mass of the donor white dwarf is assimilated in a degenerate state by the accretor. 32 references

New Light on Dark Stars Red Dwarfs, Low-Mass Stars, Brown Dwarfs

CERN Document Server

Reid, I. Neill

2005-01-01

There has been very considerable progress in research into low-mass stars, brown dwarfs and extrasolar planets during the past few years, particularly since the fist edtion of this book was published in 2000. In this new edtion the authors present a comprehensive review of both the astrophysical nature of individual red dwarf and brown dwarf stars and their collective statistical properties as an important Galactic stellar population. Chapters dealing with the observational properies of low-mass dwarfs, the stellar mass function and extrasolar planets have been completely revised. Other chapters have been significantly revised and updated as appropriate, including important new material on observational techniques, stellar acivity, the Galactic halo and field star surveys. The authors detail the many discoveries of new brown dwarfs and extrasolar planets made since publication of the first edition of the book and provide a state-of-the-art review of our current knowledge of very low-mass stars, brown dwarfs a...

Panchromatic Calibration of Astronomical Observations with State-of-the-Art White Dwarf Model Atmospheres

Science.gov (United States)

Rauch, T.

2016-05-01

Theoretical spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of white dwarfs provide a powerful tool for cross-calibration and sensitivity control of instruments from the far infrared to the X-ray energy range. Such SEDs can be calculated from fully metal-line blanketed NLTE model-atmospheres that are e.g. computed by the Tübingen NLTE Model-Atmosphere Package (TMAP) that has arrived at a high level of sophistication. TMAP was successfully employed for the reliable spectral analysis of many hot, compact post-AGB stars. High-quality stellar spectra obtained over a wide energy range establish a data base with a large number of spectral lines of many successive ions of different species. Their analysis allows to determine effective temperatures, surface gravities, and element abundances of individual (pre-)white dwarfs with very small error ranges. We present applications of TMAP SEDs for spectral analyses of hot, compact stars in the parameter range from (pre-) white dwarfs to neutron stars and demonstrate the improvement of flux calibration using white-dwarf SEDs that are e.g. available via registered services in the Virtual Observatory.

First Detection of Krypton and Xenon in a White Dwarf

Science.gov (United States)

Werner, Klaus; Rauch, Thomas; Ringat, Ellen; Kruk, Jeffrey W.

2012-01-01

We report on the first detection of the noble gases krypton (Z = 36) and xenon (54) in a white dwarf. About 20 KrVI-VII and Xe VI-VII lines were discovered in the ultraviolet spectrum of the hot DO-type white dwarf RE 0503-289. The observations, performed with the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer, also reveal highly ionized photospheric lines from other trans-iron group elements, namely Ga (31), Ge (32), As (33), Se (34), Mo (42), Sn (50), Te (52), and I (53), from which gallium and molybdenum are new discoveries in white dwarfs, too. For Kr and Xe, we performed an NLTE analysis and derived mass fractions of log Kr = -4.3 plus or minus 0.5 and log Xe = -4.2 plus or minus 0.6, corresponding to an enrichment by factors of 450 and 3800, respectively, relative to the Sun. The origin of the large overabundances is unclear. We discuss the roles of neutron-capture nucleosynthesis in the-precursor star and radiation-driven diffusion. It is possible that diffusion is insignificant and thaI the observed metal abundances constrain the evolutionary history of the star. Its hydrogen deficiency may be the consequence of a late helium-shell nash or a binary white dwarf merger.

Limits on a gravitational field dependence of the proton-electron mass ratio from H2 in white dwarf stars.

Science.gov (United States)

Bagdonaite, J; Salumbides, E J; Preval, S P; Barstow, M A; Barrow, J D; Murphy, M T; Ubachs, W

2014-09-19

Spectra of molecular hydrogen (H2) are employed to search for a possible proton-to-electron mass ratio (μ) dependence on gravity. The Lyman transitions of H2, observed with the Hubble Space Telescope towards white dwarf stars that underwent a gravitational collapse, are compared to accurate laboratory spectra taking into account the high temperature conditions (T∼13 000  K) of their photospheres. We derive sensitivity coefficients Ki which define how the individual H2 transitions shift due to μ dependence. The spectrum of white dwarf star GD133 yields a Δμ/μ constraint of (-2.7±4.7stat±0.2syst)×10(-5) for a local environment of a gravitational potential ϕ∼10(4) ϕEarth, while that of G29-38 yields Δμ/μ=(-5.8±3.8stat±0.3syst)×10(-5) for a potential of 2×10(4) ϕEarth.

Rejuvenation of the Innocent Bystander: Testing Spin-Up in a Dwarf Carbon Star Sample

Science.gov (United States)

Green, Paul

2014-09-01

Carbon stars (C>O) were long assumed to all be giants, because only AGB stars dredge up significant carbon into their atmospheres. We now know that dwarf carbon (dC) stars are actually far more common than C giants. These dC stars are hypothesized to have accreted C-rich envelope material from an AGB companion, in systems that have likely undergone a planetary nebula phase, eventually yielding a white dwarf and a dC star that has gained both significant mass and angular momentum. To test whether the X-ray emission strength and spectral properties are consistent with a rejuvenated dynamo, we propose a Chandra pilot study of dCs selected from the SDSS; some have hot white dwarf companions (indicating more recent mass transfer), and all show Balmer emission lines (a sign of activity).

High-dispersion observations of H-alpha in the suspected brown dwarf, white dwarf binary system G29-38

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liebert, J.; Saffer, R.A.; Pilachowski, C.A.

1989-01-01

High-dispersion spectroscopy of the H-alpha absorption line of the cool DA white dwarf G29-38 is reported. This is the star for which a recently detected IR excess has been suggested to be due to a possible brown dwarf companion. Three echelle spectra show no evidence for radial-velocity variations larger than about 1.1 + or - 8.7 km/s and are used to derive a weighted heliocentric radial velocity of 33.7 + or - 4.3 kms/s for the white dwarf. The observations of a sharp absorption-line core restricts the possible rotation of the white dwarf to 40 km/s or less and ensures that any surface magnetic field has a strength of 100,000 G or less. These results make it unlikely that the DA white dwarf has previously been in a cataclysmic variable accretion phase. 18 references

On the Spectral Evolution of Helium-atmosphere White Dwarfs Showing Traces of Hydrogen

Science.gov (United States)

Rolland, B.; Bergeron, P.; Fontaine, G.

2018-04-01

We present a detailed spectroscopic analysis of 115 helium-line (DB) and 28 cool, He-rich hydrogen-line (DA) white dwarfs based on atmosphere fits to optical spectroscopy and photometry. We find that 63% of our DB population show hydrogen lines, making them DBA stars. We also demonstrate the persistence of pure DB white dwarfs with no detectable hydrogen feature at low effective temperatures. Using state-of-the art envelope models, we next compute the total quantity of hydrogen, M H, that is contained in the outer convection zone as a function of effective temperature and atmospheric H/He ratio. We find that some (T eff, M H) pairs cannot physically exist as a homogeneously mixed structure; such a combination can only occur as stratified objects of the DA spectral type. On that basis, we show that the values of M H inferred for the bulk of the DBA stars are too large and incompatible with the convective dilution scenario. We also present evidence that the hydrogen abundances measured in DBA and cool, helium-rich white dwarfs cannot be globally accounted for by any kind of accretion mechanism onto a pure DB star. We suggest that cool, He-rich DA white dwarfs are most likely created by the convective mixing of a DA star with a thin hydrogen envelope; they are not cooled down DBAs. We finally explore several scenarios that could account for the presence of hydrogen in DBA stars.

Pruning The ELM Survey: Characterizing Candidate Low-mass White Dwarfs through Photometric Variability

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bell, Keaton J.; Winget, D. E.; Montgomery, M. H.; Castanheira, B. G.; Vanderbosch, Z.; Winget, K. I. [Department of Astronomy, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712 (United States); Gianninas, A.; Kilic, Mukremin [Homer L. Dodge Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019 (United States); Hermes, J. J. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599 (United States); Brown, Warren R., E-mail: keatonb@astro.as.utexas.edu [Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States)

2017-02-01

We assess the photometric variability of nine stars with spectroscopic T {sub eff} and log g values from the ELM Survey that locates them near the empirical extremely low-mass (ELM) white dwarf instability strip. We discover three new pulsating stars: SDSS J135512.34+195645.4, SDSS J173521.69+213440.6, and SDSS J213907.42+222708.9. However, these are among the few ELM Survey objects that do not show radial velocity (RV) variations that confirm the binary nature expected of helium-core white dwarfs. The dominant 4.31 hr pulsation in SDSS J135512.34+195645.4 far exceeds the theoretical cut-off for surface reflection in a white dwarf, and this target is likely a high-amplitude δ Scuti pulsator with an overestimated surface gravity. We estimate the probability to be less than 0.0008 that the lack of measured RV variations in four of eight other pulsating candidate ELM white dwarfs could be due to low orbital inclination. Two other targets exhibit variability as photometric binaries. Partial coverage of the 19.342 hr orbit of WD J030818.19+514011.5 reveals deep eclipses that imply a primary radius >0.4 R {sub ⊙}—too large to be consistent with an ELM white dwarf. The only object for which our time series photometry adds support to ELM white dwarf classification is SDSS J105435.78−212155.9, which has consistent signatures of Doppler beaming and ellipsoidal variations. We conclude that the ELM Survey contains multiple false positives from another stellar population at T {sub eff}≲9000 K, possibly related to the sdA stars recently reported from SDSS spectra.

Binary White Dwarfs in the Galactic Halo

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Oirschot, Pim; Nelemans, Gijs; Helmi, Amina; Starkenburg, Else; Pols, Onno; Brown, Anthony G. A.

We use the stellar population synthesis code SeBa (Portegies Zwart & Verbunt (1996), Toonen, Nelemans & Portegies Zwart (2012)) to study the halo white dwarf population. Here we assume a Kroupa initial mass function and compare 4 models, varying two parameters: the star formation (SF) history of the

Effective field theory for quantum liquid in dwarf stars

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gabadadze, Gregory [Center for Cosmology and Particle Physics, Department of Physics, New York University, 4 Washington Place, New York, NY 10003 (United States); Rosen, Rachel A., E-mail: gg32@nyu.edu, E-mail: rarosen@physik.su.se [Oskar Klein Centre for Cosmoparticle Physics, Department of Physics, Stockholm University, AlbaNova, Roslagstullsbacken 21, SE - 106 91, Stockholm (Sweden)

2010-04-01

An effective field theory approach is used to describe quantum matter at greater-than-atomic but less-than-nuclear densities which are encountered in white dwarf stars. We focus on the density and temperature regime for which charged spin-0 nuclei form an interacting charged Bose-Einstein condensate, while the neutralizing electrons form a degenerate fermi gas. After a brief introductory review, we summarize distinctive properties of the charged condensate, such as a mass gap in the bosonic sector as well as gapless fermionic excitations. Charged impurities placed in the condensate are screened with great efficiency, greater than in an equivalent uncondensed plasma. We discuss a generalization of the Friedel potential which takes into account bosonic collective excitations in addition to the fermionic excitations. We argue that the charged condensate could exist in helium-core white dwarf stars and discuss the evolution of these dwarfs. Condensation would lead to a significantly faster rate of cooling than that of carbon- or oxygen-core dwarfs with crystallized cores. This prediction can be tested observationally: signatures of charged condensation may have already been seen in the recently discovered sequence of helium-core dwarfs in the nearby globular cluster NGC 6397. Sufficiently strong magnetic fields can penetrate the condensate within Abrikosov-like vortices. We find approximate analytic vortex solutions and calculate the values of the lower and upper critical magnetic fields at which vortices are formed and destroyed respectively. The lower critical field is within the range of fields observed in white dwarfs, but tends toward the higher end of this interval. This suggests that for a significant fraction of helium-core dwarfs, magnetic fields are entirely expelled within the core.

The chemical evolution of white dwarf atmospheres: Diffusion and accretion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vauclair, G.; Vauclair, S.; Greenstein, J.L.

1979-01-01

A study of diffusion processes in white dwarfs is presented. We are especially interested in the estimate of the diffusion time scales for C, N, O, Mg, and Ca along the cooling sequence. The effect of the radiative acceleration is important in hot white dwarfs while in cooler ones the thermal diffusion dominates the gravitational settling. In hot white dwarfs, there should be an observable amount of CNO elements unless they have previously left the stars by a selective wind. Observational tests of this result are discussed. The diffusion time scales are always short compared to the evolutionary time scales. It is shown that in both hydrogen and helium envelopes, the convection zone, even at its maximum depth, is not able to bring back to the stellar surface the metals which have previously diffused downwards. The diffusion alone predicts a complete absence of metals in white dwarf atmospheres and envelopes. As metals are observed in white dwarfs, at least at effective temperatures lower than 15,000 K, there must be some mechanism competing with diffusion. We investigate the competition between diffusion and accretion and propose a general scheme for the chemical evolution of white dwarf atmospheres along the cooling sequence. (orig.)

IUE spectrophotometry of the DA4 primary in the short-period white dwarf-red dwarf spectroscopic binary Case 1

Science.gov (United States)

Sion, E. M.; Guinan, E. F.; Wesemael, F.

1984-01-01

Low-resolution ultraviolet International Ultraviolet Explorer spectra of the DA white dwarf Case 1 are presented. The spectra show the presence of the 1400 A feature, already discovered in several other DA stars, and of a shallower trough in the 1550-1700 A range. A model atmosphere analysis of the ultraviolet energy distribution of the Ly-alpha red wing yields T(e) = 13,000 + or - 500 K. Possible interpretations of the 1400 A feature are reviewed. Case 1 is the coolest white dwarf found in a short-period, detached white dwarf-red dwarf binary, and its cooling time is consistent with estimates of the efficiency of angular momentum removal mechanisms in the phases subsequent to common envelope binary evolution.

An upper limit on the contribution of accreting white dwarfs to the type Ia supernova rate.

Science.gov (United States)

Gilfanov, Marat; Bogdán, Akos

2010-02-18

There is wide agreement that type Ia supernovae (used as standard candles for cosmology) are associated with the thermonuclear explosions of white dwarf stars. The nuclear runaway that leads to the explosion could start in a white dwarf gradually accumulating matter from a companion star until it reaches the Chandrasekhar limit, or could be triggered by the merger of two white dwarfs in a compact binary system. The X-ray signatures of these two possible paths are very different. Whereas no strong electromagnetic emission is expected in the merger scenario until shortly before the supernova, the white dwarf accreting material from the normal star becomes a source of copious X-rays for about 10(7) years before the explosion. This offers a means of determining which path dominates. Here we report that the observed X-ray flux from six nearby elliptical galaxies and galaxy bulges is a factor of approximately 30-50 less than predicted in the accretion scenario, based upon an estimate of the supernova rate from their K-band luminosities. We conclude that no more than about five per cent of type Ia supernovae in early-type galaxies can be produced by white dwarfs in accreting binary systems, unless their progenitors are much younger than the bulk of the stellar population in these galaxies, or explosions of sub-Chandrasekhar white dwarfs make a significant contribution to the supernova rate.

WHITE DWARF-RED DWARF SYSTEMS RESOLVED WITH THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE. II. FULL SNAPSHOT SURVEY RESULTS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Farihi, J.; Hoard, D. W.; Wachter, S.

2010-01-01

Results are presented for a Hubble Space Telescope Advanced Camera for Surveys high-resolution imaging campaign of 90 white dwarfs with known or suspected low-mass stellar and substellar companions. Of the 72 targets that remain candidate and confirmed white dwarfs with near-infrared excess, 43 are spatially resolved into two or more components, and a total of 12 systems are potentially triples. For 68 systems where a comparison is possible, 50% have significant photometric distance mismatches between their white dwarf and M dwarf components, suggesting that white dwarf parameters derived spectroscopically are often biased due to the cool companion. Interestingly, 9 of the 30 binaries known to have emission lines are found to be visual pairs and hence widely separated, indicating an intrinsically active cool star and not irradiation from the white dwarf. There is a possible, slight deficit of earlier spectral types (bluer colors) among the spatially unresolved companions, exactly the opposite of expectations if significant mass is transferred to the companion during the common envelope phase. Using the best available distance estimates, the low-mass companions to white dwarfs exhibit a bimodal distribution in projected separation. This result supports the hypothesis that during the giant phases of the white dwarf progenitor, any unevolved companions either migrate inward to short periods of hours to days, or outward to periods of hundreds to thousands of years. No intermediate projected separations of a few to several AU are found among these pairs. However, a few double M dwarfs (within triples) are spatially resolved in this range, empirically demonstrating that such separations were readily detectable among the binaries with white dwarfs. A straightforward and testable prediction emerges: all spatially unresolved, low-mass stellar and substellar companions to white dwarfs should be in short-period orbits. This result has implications for substellar companion and

Effect of Generalized Uncertainty Principle on Main-Sequence Stars and White Dwarfs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohamed Moussa

2015-01-01

Full Text Available This paper addresses the effect of generalized uncertainty principle, emerged from different approaches of quantum gravity within Planck scale, on thermodynamic properties of photon, nonrelativistic ideal gases, and degenerate fermions. A modification in pressure, particle number, and energy density are calculated. Astrophysical objects such as main-sequence stars and white dwarfs are examined and discussed as an application. A modification in Lane-Emden equation due to a change in a polytropic relation caused by the presence of quantum gravity is investigated. The applicable range of quantum gravity parameters is estimated. The bounds in the perturbed parameters are relatively large but they may be considered reasonable values in the astrophysical regime.

The Continuing Search for Variability Among Cool White Dwarfs

Science.gov (United States)

Schaefer, J. J.; Oswalt, T. D.; Johnston, K. B.; Rudkin, M.; Heinz, T.

2002-12-01

The Continuing Search for Variability Among Cool White Dwarfs Justin J. Schaefer University of Wyoming Department of Physics and Astronomy P.O. Box 3905 Laramie, Wyoming 82071 USA (schaefju@uwyo.edu) Terry D. Oswalt, Kyle Johnston, Merissa Rudkin, Tamalyn Heinz Florida Institute of Technology and the SARA Observatory Department of Physics & Space Sciences 150 West University Boulevard Melbourne, Florida 32901 USA (oswalt@luyten.astro.fit.edu, kyjohnst@fit.edu, mrudkin@astro.fit.edu, theinz@fit.edu) ABSTRACT We present BVRI photometry of eleven binaries with white dwarf (WD) components. The observations were obtained at the SARA 0.9-meter telescope on Kitt Peak during the summer of 2002. Standard system (B-V), (V-R) and (R-I) color indices of four white dwarfs were determined. This data will be used to estimate the WD cooling ages in wide WD+dM binaries, as part of our ongoing research program to determine the chromospheric activity-age relation for M dwarf stars. Time-series differential photometry was also collected for eight cool white dwarfs as part of a program to explore the variability in the low luminosity, low temperature regime of the WD cooling track. We failed to detect any variability greater than ~0.04 magnitudes in these stars. Several nights of differential photometry data were collected on the DAO WD + K dwarf short-period variable HS1136+6646. From the light variations we determined a likely orbital period of 0.825 +/-0.009 days. Strong evidence is presented for two other possible periods within this light curve, possibly indicative of rotational modulation by the WD component. We gratefully acknowledge support from the National Science Foundation, which funds the SARA Research Experiences for Undergraduates program via grant AST-0097616 to Florida Tech. One of us (TDO) also acknowledges partial support for this work from NASA (subcontract Y701296) and the NSF (AST 0206115).

Stroemgren photometry of ZZ Ceti and other DA white dwarfs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fontaine, G.; Bergeron, P.; Lacombe, P.; Lamontagne, R.; Talon, A.

1985-01-01

Stroemgren colors for a sample of 71 stars classified as DA white dwarfs are presented. Comparison with the recent model atmospheres of the Kiel group indicates that the average gravity of 63 stars of the sample is log g = 7.98 +- 0.31, with no indication of a dependence on the effective temperature. This is consistent with the theoretical expectation that white dwarfs evolve at constant gravity. Correlations between Stroemgren colors and Greenstein multichannel colors are also given, using 52 stars that have been observed in common in the two systems. These correlations are used to compare the data with a second set of model atmospheres computed by Shipman. Contrary to what has been suggested in the past, no fundamental differences are found when confronting the Stroemgren data with the DA model atmospheres of Shipman or those of the Kiel group. Finally, observations of 11 pulsating objects reveal the existence of a narrow instability strip in the range 13 000 K> or approx. =T/sub e/> or approx. =11 000 K in a [(u-b), (b-y)] two-color diagram. The present results add evidence to the contention that all DA white dwarfs evolve to become ZZ Ceti pulsators in the instability strip

WD0837+185: THE FORMATION AND EVOLUTION OF AN EXTREME MASS-RATIO WHITE-DWARF-BROWN-DWARF BINARY IN PRAESEPE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Casewell, S. L.; Burleigh, M. R.; Wynn, G. A.; Alexander, R. D.; Lawrie, K. A.; Jameson, R. F.; Napiwotzki, R.; Dobbie, P. D.; Hodgkin, S. T.

2012-01-01

There is a striking and unexplained dearth of brown dwarf companions in close orbits ( ☉ (B9). The high mass of the white dwarf means the substellar companion must have been engulfed by the B star's envelope while it was on the late asymptotic giant branch (AGB). Hence, the initial separation of the system was ∼2 AU, with common envelope evolution reducing the separation to its current value. The initial and final orbital separations allow us to constrain the combination of the common envelope efficiency (α) and binding energy parameters (λ) for the AGB star to αλ ∼ 3. We examine the various formation scenarios and conclude that the substellar object was most likely captured by the white dwarf progenitor early in the life of the cluster, rather than forming in situ.

Spectropolarimetric Survey of Hydrogen-rich White Dwarf Stars

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Kawka, Adela; Vennes, S.; Schmidt, G. D.; Wickramasinghe, D.T.; Koch, R.

2007-01-01

Roč. 654, č. 1 (2007), s. 499-520 ISSN 0004-637X R&D Projects: GA ČR GP205/05/P186 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10030501 Keywords : magnetic fields * white dwarf s Subject RIV: BN - Astronomy, Celestial Mechanics, Astrophysics Impact factor: 6.405, year: 2007

The not-so-extreme white dwarf of the CV GD 552

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Unda-Sanzana, E; Hinojosa-Goni; Marsh, T R; Gaensicke, B T; Maxted, P F L; Morales-Rueda, L; Dhillon, V S; Thoroughgood, T D; Watson, C A; Tremou, E

2009-01-01

GD 552 is a cataclysmic binary which was previously believed to be composed of an M-star and a white dwarf, the latter having an extreme mass of 1.4 solar masses. In a recent paper we showed that this is not compatible with new observational evidence and presented an alternative model in which the white dwarf has a typical mass and the companion is a brown dwarf, making the system a likely member of the elusive group of CVs which have already evolved through minimum orbital period. Here we present additional spectroscopical evidence supporting this conclusion by means of skew mapping.

The type Ia supernova SNLS-03D3bb from a super-Chandrasekhar-mass white dwarf star.

Science.gov (United States)

Howell, D Andrew; Sullivan, Mark; Nugent, Peter E; Ellis, Richard S; Conley, Alexander J; Le Borgne, Damien; Carlberg, Raymond G; Guy, Julien; Balam, David; Basa, Stephane; Fouchez, Dominique; Hook, Isobel M; Hsiao, Eric Y; Neill, James D; Pain, Reynald; Perrett, Kathryn M; Pritchet, Christopher J

2006-09-21

The accelerating expansion of the Universe, and the need for dark energy, were inferred from observations of type Ia supernovae. There is a consensus that type Ia supernovae are thermonuclear explosions that destroy carbon-oxygen white dwarf stars that have accreted matter from a companion star, although the nature of this companion remains uncertain. These supernovae are thought to be reliable distance indicators because they have a standard amount of fuel and a uniform trigger: they are predicted to explode when the mass of the white dwarf nears the Chandrasekhar mass of 1.4 solar masses (M(o)). Here we show that the high-redshift supernova SNLS-03D3bb has an exceptionally high luminosity and low kinetic energy that both imply a super-Chandrasekhar-mass progenitor. Super-Chandrasekhar-mass supernovae should occur preferentially in a young stellar population, so this may provide an explanation for the observed trend that overluminous type Ia supernovae occur only in 'young' environments. As this supernova does not obey the relations that allow type Ia supernovae to be calibrated as standard candles, and as no counterparts have been found at low redshift, future cosmology studies will have to consider possible contamination from such events.

White Dwarf Rotation as a Function of Mass and a Dichotomy of Mode Line Widths: Kepler  Observations of 27 Pulsating DA White Dwarfs through K2 Campaign 8

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hermes, J. J.; Fanale, S. M.; Dennihy, E.; Fuchs, J. T.; Dunlap, B. H.; Clemens, J. C. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599 (United States); Gänsicke, B. T.; Greiss, S.; Tremblay, P.-E.; Fusillo, N. P. Gentile; Raddi, R.; Chote, P.; Marsh, T. R. [Department of Physics, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL (United Kingdom); Kawaler, Steven D. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011 (United States); Bell, Keaton J.; Montgomery, M. H.; Winget, D. E. [Department of Astronomy, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712 (United States); Redfield, S., E-mail: jjhermes@unc.edu [Wesleyan University Astronomy Department, Van Vleck Observatory, 96 Foss Hill Drive, Middletown, CT 06459 (United States)

2017-10-01

We present photometry and spectroscopy for 27 pulsating hydrogen-atmosphere white dwarfs (DAVs; a.k.a. ZZ Ceti stars) observed by the Kepler space telescope up to K2 Campaign 8, an extensive compilation of observations with unprecedented duration (>75 days) and duty cycle (>90%). The space-based photometry reveals pulsation properties previously inaccessible to ground-based observations. We observe a sharp dichotomy in oscillation mode line widths at roughly 800 s, such that white dwarf pulsations with periods exceeding 800 s have substantially broader mode line widths, more reminiscent of a damped harmonic oscillator than a heat-driven pulsator. Extended Kepler coverage also permits extensive mode identification: we identify the spherical degree of 87 out of 201 unique radial orders, providing direct constraints of the rotation period for 20 of these 27 DAVs, more than doubling the number of white dwarfs with rotation periods determined via asteroseismology. We also obtain spectroscopy from 4 m-class telescopes for all DAVs with Kepler photometry. Using these homogeneously analyzed spectra, we estimate the overall mass of all 27 DAVs, which allows us to measure white dwarf rotation as a function of mass, constraining the endpoints of angular momentum in low- and intermediate-mass stars. We find that 0.51–0.73 M {sub ⊙} white dwarfs, which evolved from 1.7–3.0 M {sub ⊙} ZAMS progenitors, have a mean rotation period of 35 hr with a standard deviation of 28 hr, with notable exceptions for higher-mass white dwarfs. Finally, we announce an online repository for our Kepler data and follow-up spectroscopy, which we collect at http://k2wd.org.

Radio pulsar death lines to SGRs/AXPs and white dwarfs pulsars

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lobato, Ronaldo V.; Malheiro, M. [Departamento de Física, Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica, ITA - DCTA, Vila das Acácias, São José dos Campos, 12228-900 SP (Brazil); Coelho, J. G. [INPE - Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais, Divisão de Astrofísica, Av. dos Astronautas 1758, São José dos Campos, 12227-010 SP (Brazil)

2015-12-17

Recently, an alternative model based on white dwarfs pulsars has been proposed to explain a class of pulsars known as Soft Gamma Repeaters (SGR) and Anomalus X-Ray Pulsars (AXP) [1], usually named as magnetars. In this model, the magnetized white dwarfs can have surface magnetic field B ∼ 10{sup 7} − 10{sup 10} G and rotate very fast with angular frequencies Ω ∼ 1 rad/s, allowing them to produce large electromagnetic (EM) potentials and generate electron-positron pairs. These EM potentials are comparable with the ones of neutron star pulsars with strong magnetic fields and even larger. In this study we consider two possible processes associated with the particle acceleration, both of them are common used to explain radio emission in neutron star pulsars: in the first process the pair production happens near to the star polar caps, i.e. inside of the light cylinder where magnetic field lines are closed; in the second one the creation of pair happens in the outer magnetosphere, i.e. far away of the star surface where magnetic field lines are open [2]. The analysis of the possibility of radio emission were done for 23 SGRs/AXPs of the McGill Online Magnetar Catalog [3] that contains the current information available on these sources. The results of this work show that the model where the particles production occur in the outer magnetosphere emission “o2” is the process compatible with the astronomical observations of absence of radio emission for almost all SGRs/AXPs when these sources are understood as white dwarf pulsars. Our work is a first attempted to find an explanation for the puzzle why for almost all the SGRs/AXPs was expected radio emission, but it was observed in only four of them. These four sources, as it was suggested recently [4], seem to belong to an high magnetic field neutron star pulsar category, different from all the others SGRs/AXPs that our work indicate to belong to a new class of white dwarf pulsars, very fast and magnetized.

A Common Origin of Magnetism from Planets to White Dwarfs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Isern, Jordi; Külebi, Baybars [Institut de Ciències de l’Espai (CSIC), Campus UAB, 08193 Cerdanyola (Spain); García-Berro, Enrique [Institut d’Estudis Espacials de Catalunya, Ed. Nexus-201, c/Gran Capità 2-4, E-08034 Barcelona (Spain); Lorén-Aguilar, Pablo [School of Physics, University of Exeter, Stocker Road, Exeter EX4 4QL (United Kingdom)

2017-02-20

Isolated magnetic white dwarfs have field strengths ranging from kilogauss to gigagauss. However, the origin of the magnetic field has not been hitherto elucidated. Whether these fields are fossil, hence the remnants of original weak magnetic fields amplified during the course of the evolution of their progenitor stars, or are the result of binary interactions, or, finally, they are produced by other internal physical mechanisms during the cooling of the white dwarf itself, remains a mystery. At sufficiently low temperatures, white dwarfs crystallize. Upon solidification, phase separation of its main constituents, {sup 12}C and {sup 16}O, and of the impurities left by previous evolution occurs. This process leads to the formation of a Rayleigh–Taylor unstable liquid mantle on top of a solid core. This convective region, as it occurs in solar system planets like the Earth and Jupiter, can produce a dynamo able to yield magnetic fields of strengths of up to 0.1 MG, thus providing a mechanism that could explain magnetism in single white dwarfs.

WHITE-DWARF-MAIN-SEQUENCE BINARIES IDENTIFIED FROM THE LAMOST PILOT SURVEY

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ren Juanjuan; Luo Ali; Li Yinbi; Wei Peng; Zhao Jingkun; Zhao Yongheng; Song Yihan; Zhao Gang

2013-01-01

We present a set of white-dwarf-main-sequence (WDMS) binaries identified spectroscopically from the Large sky Area Multi-Object fiber Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST, also called the Guo Shou Jing Telescope) pilot survey. We develop a color selection criteria based on what is so far the largest and most complete Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) DR7 WDMS binary catalog and identify 28 WDMS binaries within the LAMOST pilot survey. The primaries in our binary sample are mostly DA white dwarfs except for one DB white dwarf. We derive the stellar atmospheric parameters, masses, and radii for the two components of 10 of our binaries. We also provide cooling ages for the white dwarf primaries as well as the spectral types for the companion stars of these 10 WDMS binaries. These binaries tend to contain hot white dwarfs and early-type companions. Through cross-identification, we note that nine binaries in our sample have been published in the SDSS DR7 WDMS binary catalog. Nineteen spectroscopic WDMS binaries identified by the LAMOST pilot survey are new. Using the 3σ radial velocity variation as a criterion, we find two post-common-envelope binary candidates from our WDMS binary sample

Photospheric, circumstellar, and interstellar features of HE, C, N. O, and Si in the HST spectra of four hot white dwarf stars

Science.gov (United States)

Shipman, Harry L.; Provencal, Judi; Roby, Scott W.; Barstow, Martin; Bond, Howard; Bruhweiler, Fred; Finley, David; Fontaine, Gilles; Holberg, Jay; Nousek, John

1995-01-01

This paper reports on the observations of four hot white dwarf stars with the spectrographs on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). The higher resolving power and higher signal/noise, in comparison with IUE, reveals a very rich phenomomenology, including photospheric features from heavy elements, circumstellar features, and the first direct detection of accretion onto the white dwarf component of a binary system. Specific results include the following: Our observations of the ultrahot degenerate H1504+65 confirm that it has a photosphere which is depleted in both H and He, and reveals features of C IV and O VI. The spectrum fits previously published models extremely well. The intermediate-temperature DO star PG 1034+001 has an ultraviolet spectrum showing complex profiles of the well-known resonance doublets of C IV, N v, and Si IV. The O V 1371 line shows a clear separation into a photospheric and a circumstellar component, and it is likely that the same two components can explain the other lines as well. The cooler DA star GD 394 has an extensive system of heavy-element features, but their radial velocity is such that it is highly unlikely that they are formed in the stellar photosphere. Time-resolved spectra of the accreting white dwarf in the V 471 Tau binary system are briefly presented here; they do show the presence of C IV, Si IV, and He II. However, the C IV and He II lines are in emission, rather than in aborption as had been expected.

DO R CORONAE BOREALIS STARS FORM FROM DOUBLE WHITE DWARF MERGERS?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Staff, Jan. E.; Clayton, Geoffrey C.; Tohline, Joel E. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Louisiana State University, 202 Nicholson Hall, Tower Drive, Baton Rouge, LA 70803-4001 (United States); Menon, Athira; Herwig, Falk [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC V8P5C2 (Canada); Even, Wesley; Fryer, Chris L. [Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545 (United States); Motl, Patrick M. [Department of Science, Mathematics and Informatics, Indiana University Kokomo, Kokomo, IN 46904-9003 (United States); Geballe, Tom [Gemini Observatory, 670 North A' ohoku Place, Hilo, HI 96720 (United States); Pignatari, Marco [Department of Physics, University of Basel, Klingelbergstrasse 82, CH-4056 Basel (Switzerland)

2012-09-20

A leading formation scenario for R Coronae Borealis (RCB) stars invokes the merger of degenerate He and CO white dwarfs (WDs) in a binary. The observed ratio of {sup 16}O/{sup 18}O for RCB stars is in the range of 0.3-20 much smaller than the solar value of {approx}500. In this paper, we investigate whether such a low ratio can be obtained in simulations of the merger of a CO and a He WD. We present the results of five three-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations of the merger of a double WD system where the total mass is 0.9 M{sub Sun} and the initial mass ratio (q) varies between 0.5 and 0.99. We identify in simulations with q {approx}< 0.7 a feature around the merged stars where the temperatures and densities are suitable for forming {sup 18}O. However, more {sup 16}O is being dredged up from the C- and O-rich accretor during the merger than the amount of {sup 18}O that is produced. Therefore, on the dynamical timescale over which our hydrodynamics simulation runs, an {sup 16}O/{sup 18}O ratio of {approx}2000 in the 'best' case is found. If the conditions found in the hydrodynamic simulations persist for 10{sup 6} s the oxygen ratio drops to 16 in one case studied, while in a hundred years it drops to {approx}4 in another case studied, consistent with the observed values in RCB stars. Therefore, the merger of two WDs remains a strong candidate for the formation of these enigmatic stars.

Relation between initial and minimum final white dwarf mass for Population I stars

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mazzitelli, I.; Dantona, F.

1986-12-01

The evolutionary paths for Population I stars having initial masses 1, 2.5, 3, 4, and 5 solar masses were computed from the homogeneous main sequence to the onset of the first major thermal pulse to evaluate the minimum mass and the chemical stratification of the remnant white dwarf (WD) associated with each parent mass. The helium flash phase was followed in detail for a 2.5 solar masses star, whereas for the 1 solar mass star the flash was bypassed, and the models at the beginning of the steady central helium burning phase were obtained by means of a scaling procedure upon the properly computed total and core masses. The results show that for a parent ranging between 1-3 solar masses the core mass at the first thermal pulse ranges only from 0.64-0.69 solar mass. If some very fast mass-loss mechanism is triggered in connection with the early stages of the thermal pulse phase, as suggested by the observed deficiency of asymptotic giant branch stars, the relation between final and initial mass is almost flat at least up to an initial mass of 3 solar masses, and the mass spectrum of the WDs is narrow and heavily peaked around 0.65 solar mass. 53 references.

Relation between initial and minimum final white dwarf mass for Population I stars

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mazzitelli, I.; Dantona, F.; CNR, Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale, Frascati; Roma, Osservatorio Astronomico, Rome, Italy)

1986-01-01

The evolutionary paths for Population I stars having initial masses 1, 2.5, 3, 4, and 5 solar masses were computed from the homogeneous main sequence to the onset of the first major thermal pulse to evaluate the minimum mass and the chemical stratification of the remnant white dwarf (WD) associated with each parent mass. The helium flash phase was followed in detail for a 2.5 solar masses star, whereas for the 1 solar mass star the flash was bypassed, and the models at the beginning of the steady central helium burning phase were obtained by means of a scaling procedure upon the properly computed total and core masses. The results show that for a parent ranging between 1-3 solar masses the core mass at the first thermal pulse ranges only from 0.64-0.69 solar mass. If some very fast mass-loss mechanism is triggered in connection with the early stages of the thermal pulse phase, as suggested by the observed deficiency of asymptotic giant branch stars, the relation between final and initial mass is almost flat at least up to an initial mass of 3 solar masses, and the mass spectrum of the WDs is narrow and heavily peaked around 0.65 solar mass. 53 references

The galactic population of white dwarfs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Napiwotzki, Ralf

2009-01-01

The contribution of white dwarfs of the different Galactic populations to the stellar content of our Galaxy is only poorly known. Some authors claim a vast population of halo white dwarfs, which would be in accordance with some investigations of the early phases of Galaxy formation claiming a top-heavy initial- mass- function. Here, I present a model of the population of white dwarfs in the Milky Way based on observations of the local white dwarf sample and a standard model of Galactic structure. This model will be used to estimate the space densities of thin disc, thick disc and halo white dwarfs and their contribution to the baryonic mass budget of the Milky Way. One result of this investigation is that white dwarfs of the halo population contribute a large fraction of the Galactic white dwarf number count, but they are not responsible for the lion's share of stellar mass in the Milky Way. Another important result is the substantial contribution of the - often neglected - population of thick disc white dwarfs. Misclassification of thick disc white dwarfs is responsible for overestimates of the halo population in previous investigations.

Temperatures and luminosities of white dwarfs in dwarf novae

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smak, J.

1984-01-01

Far ultraviolet radiation observed in dwarf novae at minimum can only be attributed to their white dwarfs. In three systems white dwarfs are detected directly through their eclipses. These data are used to determine the effective temperatures and luminosities of white dwarfs. The resulting temperatures range from about logT e = 4.1 to about 4.9, with typical values of about 4.5. The luminosities range from about logL 1 = 31.0 to about 33.5 and show correlation with the average accretion rates. Radiation from white dwarfs is likely to be the source of excitation of the emission lines from disks. It is also argued that the heating by the white dwarf can significantly modify the structure of the innermost parts of the disk and, particularly, inhibit the incidence of thermal instability in that region. 26 refs., 2 figs., 1 tab. (author)

Head-on collisions of binary white dwarf-neutron stars: Simulations in full general relativity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Paschalidis, Vasileios; Etienne, Zachariah; Liu, Yuk Tung; Shapiro, Stuart L.

2011-01-01

We simulate head-on collisions from rest at large separation of binary white dwarf-neutron stars (WDNSs) in full general relativity. Our study serves as a prelude to our analysis of the circular binary WDNS problem. We focus on compact binaries whose total mass exceeds the maximum mass that a cold-degenerate star can support, and our goal is to determine the fate of such systems. A fully general relativistic hydrodynamic computation of a realistic WDNS head-on collision is prohibitive due to the large range of dynamical time scales and length scales involved. For this reason, we construct an equation of state (EOS) which captures the main physical features of neutron stars (NSs) while, at the same time, scales down the size of white dwarfs (WDs). We call these scaled-down WD models 'pseudo-WDs (pWDs)'. Using pWDs, we can study these systems via a sequence of simulations where the size of the pWD gradually increases toward the realistic case. We perform two sets of simulations; One set studies the effects of the NS mass on the final outcome, when the pWD is kept fixed. The other set studies the effect of the pWD compaction on the final outcome, when the pWD mass and the NS are kept fixed. All simulations show that after the collision, 14%-18% of the initial total rest mass escapes to infinity. All remnant masses still exceed the maximum rest mass that our cold EOS can support (1.92M · ), but no case leads to prompt collapse to a black hole. This outcome arises because the final configurations are hot. All cases settle into spherical, quasiequilibrium configurations consisting of a cold NS core surrounded by a hot mantle, resembling Thorne-Zytkow objects. Extrapolating our results to realistic WD compactions, we predict that the likely outcome of a head-on collision of a realistic, massive WDNS system will be the formation of a quasiequilibrium Thorne-Zytkow-like object.

A compact planetary nebula around the hot white dwarf EGB 6/PG 0950 + 139

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liebert, J.; Green, R.; Bond, H.E.; Holberg, J.B.; Wesemael, F. (Steward Observatory, Tucson, AZ (USA) Mount Wilson and Las Campanas Observatories, Pasadena, CA (USA) Kitt Peak National Observatory, Tucson, AZ (USA) Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD (USA) Arizona Univ., Tucson (USA) Montreal Universite, Montreal (Canada))

1989-11-01

The remarkable central star (0950 + 139), a very hot DA/DAO white dwarf, of the planetary nebula EGB 6 is described. Follow-up observations relevant to the analyses of both the nebula and the stellar photosphere are presented. Three kinds of scenarios are discussed to account for the existence of this peculiar nebula, but none appears very promising. The first consideration is that the nebula was ejected from the white dwarf as a discret event. This hypothesis is heavily constrained by the nebular size, density, and expansion rate; by the low luminosity and radius of the star; and by the absence of evidence for variation in density-sensitive forbidden lines from 1978 to 1987. No plausible mechanism can cause the observed amount of mass to be lost directly from a white dwarf in a steady or sporadic wind, at outflow velocities orders of magnitude below the escape velocity. Final consideration is given to the possibility that the gas is lost from a close companion star, but there is no evidence that this is a close binary system. 45 refs.

A compact planetary nebula around the hot white dwarf EGB 6/PG 0950 + 139

Science.gov (United States)

Liebert, James; Green, Richard; Bond, Howard E.; Holberg, J. B.; Wesemael, F.

1989-01-01

The remarkable central star (0950 + 139), a very hot DA/DAO white dwarf, of the planetary nebula EGB 6 is described. Follow-up observations relevant to the analyses of both the nebula and the stellar photosphere are presented. Three kinds of scenarios are discussed to account for the existence of this peculiar nebula, but none appears very promising. The first consideration is that the nebula was ejected from the white dwarf as a discret event. This hypothesis is heavily constrained by the nebular size, density, and expansion rate; by the low luminosity and radius of the star; and by the absence of evidence for variation in density-sensitive forbidden lines from 1978 to 1987. No plausible mechanism can cause the observed amount of mass to be lost directly from a white dwarf in a steady or sporadic wind, at outflow velocities orders of magnitude below the escape velocity. Final consideration is given to the possibility that the gas is lost from a close companion star, but there is no evidence that this is a close binary system.

A compact planetary nebula around the hot white dwarf EGB 6/PG 0950 + 139

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liebert, J.; Green, R.; Bond, H.E.; Holberg, J.B.; Wesemael, F.

1989-01-01

The remarkable central star (0950 + 139), a very hot DA/DAO white dwarf, of the planetary nebula EGB 6 is described. Follow-up observations relevant to the analyses of both the nebula and the stellar photosphere are presented. Three kinds of scenarios are discussed to account for the existence of this peculiar nebula, but none appears very promising. The first consideration is that the nebula was ejected from the white dwarf as a discret event. This hypothesis is heavily constrained by the nebular size, density, and expansion rate; by the low luminosity and radius of the star; and by the absence of evidence for variation in density-sensitive forbidden lines from 1978 to 1987. No plausible mechanism can cause the observed amount of mass to be lost directly from a white dwarf in a steady or sporadic wind, at outflow velocities orders of magnitude below the escape velocity. Final consideration is given to the possibility that the gas is lost from a close companion star, but there is no evidence that this is a close binary system. 45 refs

Orbital motion of the secondary in three AM Her systems: evidence for low-mass white dwarfs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mukai, K; Charles, P A

1987-05-01

In an earlier paper the spectroscopic detection was reported of the secondaries in the three AM Her type systems, CW1103+254, PG1550+191 and E2003+225. In this paper, high-resolution spectrophotometry of these stars is presented in the wavelength region lambda lambda 7550-8850. In all three cases, the radial velocity variation of the second star has been detected using the Na I doublet at lambda lambda 8183-94. Combined with values for each system's inclination estimated from polarimetry, constraints on the white dwarf masses are derived. The average of our best estimates for the white dwarf masses in these systems and AM Her itself is approx.0.6 solar masses, essentially coincident with the masses of isolated white dwarfs.

The cool DA white dwarf G128-7: Atmospheric parameters and evolutionary consequences

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wehrse, R.; Liebert, J.

1980-01-01

Atmospheric parameters are derived for the very cool DA white dwarf G128-7 (Gr283). The best fit to the models yields Tsub(eff) = 5800 0 K, [M/H] approx. 8.0 is found because of the implied formation of molecular hydrogen and its effects on the temperature stratification; at higher Tsub(eff), the molecule formation is unimportant and the H-lines show little gravity dependence. The dominance of non-DA spectral types for a sample of nearby, well observed white dwarfs with 13.0 0 K) leads us to conclude that the 3:1 ratio in favor of hydrogen atmospheres for hot white dwarfs is not preserved as the stars cool; this is evidence that convective mixing of the outer hydrogen layer has occured for some but not all stars. Results of recent theoretical investigations suggest that the surviving cool DA stars have larger initial hydrogen layer masses (>approx.10 -10 M) or higher than normal stallar masses. The latter possibility would be consistent with our inference for a higher than normal surface gravity in G128-7. (orig.) 891 WL/orig. 892 HIS

General relativistic effects in the structure of massive white dwarfs

Science.gov (United States)

Carvalho, G. A.; Marinho, R. M.; Malheiro, M.

2018-04-01

In this work we investigate the structure of white dwarfs using the Tolman-Oppenheimer-Volkoff equations and compare our results with those obtained from Newtonian equations of gravitation in order to put in evidence the importance of general relativity (GR) for the structure of such stars. We consider in this work for the matter inside white dwarfs two equations of state, frequently found in the literature, namely, the Chandrasekhar and Salpeter equations of state. We find that using Newtonian equilibrium equations, the radii of massive white dwarfs (M>1.3M_{⊙ }) are overestimated in comparison with GR outcomes. For a mass of 1.415M_{⊙ } the white dwarf radius predicted by GR is about 33% smaller than the Newtonian one. Hence, in this case, for the surface gravity the difference between the general relativistic and Newtonian outcomes is about 65%. We depict the general relativistic mass-radius diagrams as M/M_{⊙ }=R/(a+bR+cR^2+dR^3+kR^4), where a, b, c and d are parameters obtained from a fitting procedure of the numerical results and k=(2.08× 10^{-6}R_{⊙ })^{-1}, being R_{⊙ } the radius of the Sun in km. Lastly, we point out that GR plays an important role to determine any physical quantity that depends, simultaneously, on the mass and radius of massive white dwarfs.

Deposition of steeply infalling debris around white dwarf stars

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, John C.; Veras, Dimitri; Gänsicke, Boris T.

2017-06-01

High-metallicity pollution is common in white dwarf (WD) stars hosting remnant planetary systems. However, they rarely have detectable debris accretion discs, possibly because much of the influx is fast steeply infalling debris in star-grazing orbits, producing a more tenuous signature than a slowly accreting disc. Processes governing such deposition between the Roche radius and photosphere have so far received little attention and we model them here analytically by extending recent work on sun-grazing comets to WD systems. We find that the evolution of cm-to-km size (a0) infallers most strongly depends on two combinations of parameters, which effectively measure sublimation rate and binding strength. We then provide an algorithm to determine the fate of infallers for any WD, and apply the algorithm to four limiting combinations of hot versus cool (young/old) WDs with snowy (weak, volatile) versus rocky (strong, refractory) infallers. We find: (I) Total sublimation above the photosphere befalls all small infallers across the entire WD temperature (TWD) range, the threshold size rising with TWD and 100× larger for rock than snow. (II) All very large objects fragment tidally regardless of TWD: for rock, a0 ≽ 105 cm; for snow, a0 ≽ 103-3 × 104 cm across all WD cooling ages. (III) A considerable range of a0 avoids fragmentation and total sublimation, yielding impacts or grazes with cold WDs. This range rapidly narrows with increasing TWD, especially for snowy bodies. Finally, we briefly discuss how the various forms of deposited debris may finally reach the photosphere surface itself.

A Predicted Astrometric Microlensing Event by a Nearby White Dwarf

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McGill, Peter; Smith, Leigh C.; Wyn Evans, N.; Belokurov, Vasily; Smart, R. L.

2018-04-01

We used the Tycho-Gaia Astrometric Solution catalogue, part of Gaia Data Release 1, to search for candidate astrometric microlensing events expected to occur within the remaining lifetime of the Gaia satellite. Our search yielded one promising candidate. We predict that the nearby DQ type white dwarf LAWD 37 (WD 1142-645) will lens a background star and will reach closest approach on November 11th 2019 (± 4 days) with impact parameter 380 ± 10 mas. This will produce an apparent maximum deviation of the source position of 2.8 ± 0.1 mas. In the most propitious circumstance, Gaia will be able to determine the mass of LAWD 37 to ˜3%. This mass determination will provide an independent check on atmospheric models of white dwarfs with helium rich atmospheres, as well as tests of white dwarf mass radius relationships and evolutionary theory.

Three-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations of stellar collisions. II. White dwarfs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Benz, W.; Thielemann, F.K.; Hills, J.G.

1989-01-01

Three-dimensional numerical simulations are presented for collisions between white dwarfs, using a smooth-particle hydrodynamics code with 5000 particles. The code allows for radiation and degenerate pressure and uses a reduced nuclear network which models the large release of nuclear energy. Two different collision models are considered over a range of impact parameters: between two 0.06 solar-mass C-O white dwarfs and between 0.9 solar-mass and 0.7 solar-mass C-O white dwarfs. In nearly head-on collisions, a very substantial fraction of the mass is lost as a result of a large release of nuclear energy. In grazing collisions, the fraction of mass lost is close to that produced in collisions between main-sequence stars. The quantity of processed elements ejected into the ISM by these collisions does not significantly affect the chemical evolution of the Galaxy. 24 refs

Determining the Pressure Shift of Helium I Lines Using White Dwarf Stars

Science.gov (United States)

Camarota, Lawrence

This dissertation explores the non-Doppler shifting of Helium lines in the high pressure conditions of a white dwarf photosphere. In particular, this dissertation seeks to mathematically quantify the shift in a way that is simple to reproduce and account for in future studies without requiring prior knowledge of the star's bulk properties (mass, radius, temperature, etc.). Two main methods will be used in this analysis. First, the spectral line will be quantified with a continuous wavelet transformation, and the components will be used in a chi2 minimizing linear regression to predict the shift. Second, the position of the lines will be calculated using a best-fit Levy-alpha line function. These techniques stand in contrast to traditional methods of quantifying the center of often broad spectral lines, which usually assume symmetry on the parts of the lines.

Surprising Rapid Collapse of Sirius B from Red Giant to White Dwarf Through Mass Transfer to Sirius a

Science.gov (United States)

Yousef, Shahinaz; Ali, Ola

2013-03-01

Sirius was observed in antiquity as a red star. In his famous astronomy textbook the Almagest written 140 AD, Ptolemy described the star Sirius as fiery red. He curiously depicted it as one of six red-colored stars. The other five are class M and K stars, such as Arcturus and Betelgeuse. Apparent confirmation in ancient Greek and Roman sources are found and Sirius was also reported red in Europe about 1400 years ago. Sirius must have changed to a white dwarf in the night of Ascension. The star chapter in the Quran started with "by the star as it collapsed (1) your companion have not gone astray nor being misled (2), and in verse 49 which is the rotation period of the companion Sirius B around Sirius A, it is said" He is the Lord of Sirius (49). If Sirius actually was red what could have caused it to change into the brilliant bluish-white star we see today? What the naked eye perceives as a single star is actually a binary star system, consisting of a white main sequence star of spectral type A1V, termed Sirius A, and a faint white dwarf companion of spectral type DA2, termed Sirius B. The red color indicates that the star seen then was a red giant. It looks that what they have seen in antiquity was Sirius B which was then a red giant and it collapsed to form a white dwarf. Since there is no evidence of a planetary nebula, then the red Sirius paradox can be solved in terms of stellar evolution with mass transfer. Sirius B was the most massive star which evolved to a red giant and filled the Roche lobe. Mass transfer to Sirius A occurred through the Lagrangian point. Sirius A then became more massive while Sirius B lost mass and shrank. Sirius B then collapsed abruptly into a white dwarf. In the case of Algol, Ptolmy observed it as white star but it was red at the time of El sufi. At present it is white. The rate of mass transfer from Sirius B to Sirius A, and from Algol B to A is estimated from observational data of colour change from red to bullish white to be 0

NuSTAR and swift observations of the fast rotating magnetized white dwarf AE Aquarii

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kitaguchi, Takao; An, Hongjun; Beloborodov, Andrei M.

2014-01-01

AE Aquarii is a cataclysmic variable with the fastest known rotating magnetized white dwarf (P-spin = 33.08 s). Compared to many intermediate polars, AE Aquarii shows a soft X-ray spectrum with a very low luminosity (L-X similar to 10(31) erg s(-1)). We have analyzed overlapping observations...... of this system with the NuSTAR and the Swift X-ray observatories in 2012 September. We find the 0.5-30 keV spectra to be well fitted by either an optically thin thermal plasma model with three temperatures of 0.75(-0.45)(+0.18), 2.29(-0.82)(+0.96), and 9.33(-2.18)(+6.07) keV, or an optically thin thermal plasma...

Dynamics of quadruple systems composed of two binaries: stars, white dwarfs, and implications for Ia supernovae

Science.gov (United States)

Fang, Xiao; Thompson, Todd A.; Hirata, Christopher M.

2018-05-01

We investigate the long-term secular dynamics and Lidov-Kozai (LK) eccentricity oscillations of quadruple systems composed of two binaries at quadrupole and octupole orders in the perturbing Hamiltonian. We show that the fraction of systems reaching high eccentricities is enhanced relative to triple systems, over a broader range of parameter space. We show that this fraction grows with time, unlike triple systems evolved at quadrupole order. This is fundamentally because with their additional degrees of freedom, quadruple systems do not have a maximal set of commuting constants of the motion, even in secular theory at quadrupole order. We discuss these results in the context of star-star and white dwarf-white dwarf (WD) binaries, with emphasis on WD-WD mergers and collisions relevant to the Type Ia supernova problem. For star-star systems, we find that more than 30 per cent of systems reach high eccentricity within a Hubble time, potentially forming triple systems via stellar mergers or close binaries. For WD-WD systems, taking into account general relativistic and tidal precession and dissipation, we show that the merger rate is enhanced in quadruple systems relative to triple systems by a factor of 3.5-10, and that the long-term evolution of quadruple systems leads to a delay-time distribution ˜1/t for mergers and collisions. In gravitational wave-driven mergers of compact objects, we classify the mergers by their evolutionary patterns in phase space and identify a regime in about 8 per cent of orbital shrinking mergers, where eccentricity oscillations occur on the general relativistic precession time-scale, rather than the much longer LK time-scale. Finally, we generalize previous treatments of oscillations in the inner binary eccentricity (evection) to eccentric mutual orbits. We assess the merger rate in quadruple and triple systems and the implications for their viability as progenitors of stellar mergers and Type Ia supernovae.

Iron abundance in the hot DA white dwarfs Feige 24 and G191 B2B

Science.gov (United States)

Vennes, Stephane; Chayer, Pierre; Thorstensen, John R.; Bowyer, Stuart; Shipman, Harry L.

1992-01-01

Attention is given to model calculations of the far- and extreme-UV line spectra of highly ionized Fe species (Fe IV, Fe V, and Fe VI) for hot high-gravity H-rich stars. A spectral analysis of 31 hr of exposure of the DA white dwarf Feige 24 with IUE in the echelle mode reveals the presence of Fe with an abundance relative to H by number of (5-10) x 10 exp -6 with an uncertainty dominated by the determination of stellar parameters. An analysis of IUE data from the white dwarf G191 B2B results in a similar Fe abundance if this star shares similar atmospheric parameters (Teff, g) with Feige 24. Fe is thus the second most abundant photospheric element in hot DA white dwarfs.

The white dwarf mass-radius relation with Gaia, Hubble and FUSE

Science.gov (United States)

Joyce, Simon R. G.; Barstow, Martin A.; Casewell, Sarah L.; Holberg, Jay B.; Bond, Howard E.

2018-04-01

White dwarfs are becoming useful tools for many areas of astronomy. They can be used as accurate chronometers over Gyr timescales. They are also clues to the history of star formation in our galaxy. Many of these studies require accurate estimates of the mass of the white dwarf. The theoretical mass-radius relation is often invoked to provide these mass estimates. While the theoretical mass-radius relation is well developed, observational tests of this relation show a much larger scatter in the results than expected. High precision observational tests to confirm this relation are required. Gaia is providing distance measurements which will remove one of the main source of uncertainty affecting most previous observations. We combine Gaia distances with spectra from the Hubble and FUSE satelites to make precise tests of the white dwarf mass-radius relation.

A white dwarf companion to the main-sequence star 4 Omicron(1) Orionis and the binary hypothesis for the origin of peculiar red giants

Science.gov (United States)

Ake, Thomas B.; Johnson, Hollis R.

1988-01-01

Ultraviolet spectra of the peculiar red giants (PRGs) called MS stars are investigated, and the discovery of a white dwarf (WD) companion to the MS star 4 Omicron(1) Orionis is reported. The observations and data analysis are discussed and compared with those for field WDs in order to derive parameters for the WD and the luminosity of the primary. Detection limits for the other MS stars investigated are derived, and the binary hypothesis for PRGs is reviewed.

Polarimetric Evidence of the First White Dwarf Pulsar: The Binary System AR Scorpii

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David A.H. Buckley

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The binary star AR Scorpii was recently discovered to exhibit high amplitude coherent variability across the electromagnetic spectrum (ultraviolet to radio at two closely spaced ∼2 min periods, attributed to the spin period of a white dwarf and the beat period. There is strong evidence (low X-ray luminosity, lack of flickering and absense of broad emission lines that AR Sco is a detached non-accreting system whose luminosity is dominated by the spin-down power of a white dwarf, due to magnetohydrodynamical (MHD interactions with its M5 companion. Optical polarimetry has revealed highly pulsed linear polarization on the same periods, reaching a maximum of 40%, consistent with a pulsar-like dipole, with the Stokes Q and U variations reminiscent of the Crab pulsar. These observations, coupled with the spectral energy distribution (SED which is dominated by non-thermal emission, characteristic of synchrotron emission, support the notion that a strongly magnetic (∼200 MG white dwarf is behaving like a pulsar, whose magnetic field interacts with the secondary star’s photosphere and magnetosphere. Radio synchrotron emission is produced from the pumping action of the white dwarf’s magnetic field on coronal loops from the M-star companion, while emission at high frequencies (UV/optical/X-ray comes from the particle wind, driven by large electric potential, again reminiscent of processes seen in neutron star pulsars.

Search for brown dwarfs and late M dwarfs in the Hyades and the Pleiades

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zuckerman, B.; Becklin, E.E.; Hawaii Univ., Honolulu)

1987-01-01

The J and K colors of 14 white dwarfs that are believed to be single stars and members of either the Hyades or Pleiades clusters or the Hyades supercluster were measured, and no indication of any excess 2.2 micron (K) emission above that expected from the white dwarf was found. Based on recently published theoretical cooling curves for brown dwarfs, the existence of any cool companion stars, with masses greater than approximately 0.03 solar mass within a radius of 6 arcsec of eight white dwarfs in the Hyades cluster and greater than approximately 0.015 solar mass toward the single white dwarf in the Pleiades, is ruled out. This latter limit, only 15 Jupiter masses, is probably the lowest that has yet been established for any star by purely infrared techniques. 21 references

The gravitational waveforms of white dwarf collisions in globular clusters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Loren-Aguilar, P; Garcia-Berro, E; Lobo, J A; Isern, J

2009-01-01

In the dense central regions of globular clusters close encounters of two white dwarfs are relatively frequent. The estimated frequency is one or more strong encounters per star in the lifetime of the cluster. Such encounters should be then potential sources of gravitational wave radiation. Thus, it is foreseeable that these collisions could be either individually detected by LISA or they could contribute significantly to the background noise of the detector. We compute the pattern of gravitational wave emission from these encounters for a sufficiently broad range of system parameters, namely the masses, the relative velocities and the distances of the two white dwarfs involved in the encounter.

THE SPECTRAL TYPES OF WHITE DWARFS IN MESSIER 4

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Davis, D. Saul; Richer, Harvey B.; Rich, R. Michael; Reitzel, David R.; Kalirai, Jason S.

2009-01-01

We present the spectra of 24 white dwarfs in the direction of the globular cluster Messier 4 obtained with the Keck/LRIS and Gemini/GMOS spectrographs. Determining the spectral types of the stars in this sample, we find 24 type DA and 0 type DB (i.e., atmospheres dominated by hydrogen and helium, respectively). Assuming the ratio of DA/DB observed in the field with effective temperature between 15,000-25,000 K, i.e., 4.2:1, holds for the cluster environment, the chance of finding no DBs in our sample simply due to statistical fluctuations is only 6 x 10 -3 . The spectral types of the ∼100 white dwarfs previously identified in open clusters indicate that DB formation is strongly suppressed in that environment. Furthermore, all the ∼10 white dwarfs previously identified in other globular clusters are exclusively type DA. In the context of these two facts, this finding suggests that DB formation is suppressed in the cluster environment in general. Though no satisfactory explanation for this phenomenon exists, we discuss several possibilities.

Helium flashes on accreting white dwarfs: consequences for type 1 supernova and nova abundances

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hillebrandt, W.; Ziegert, W.; Thielemann, F.K.

1986-01-01

Helium flashes on an accreting 1 Solar mass carbon-oxygen white dwarf are investigated. It is demonstrated that the outer layers of a white dwarf growing towards the Chandrasekhar limit will be significantly enriched in elements like Mg, Al, Si and S provided the mass accretion rate is of the order of a few times 10 -8 to 10 -7 Solar mass per year. Since these stars are believed to explode as type I supernovae the abundances being ejected will depend also upon the accretion history of the white dwarfs. In addition this matter will have a rather non-solar isotopic composition. Finally, our results may help to explain abundances of heavy elements observed in certain novae if the white dwarf in those binary systems has gone through a high accretion rate phase once in the past before becoming a normal cataclysmic variable

White dwarf radii and boundary-layer constraints in three dwarf novae

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wood, J.H.

1990-01-01

The structure of the boundary layer between the accretion disc and white dwarf in three quiescent dwarf novae is explored with high signal-to-noise eclipse light curves obtained by phase folding 12-20 eclipses. Models of the eclipse shapes of various white dwarf/boundary layer configurations that might be at the centres of the accretion discs are calculated and compared with observations of the eclipses in Z Cha, OY Car and HT Cas. Possible models for the central objects are found to be a white dwarf with or without its lower hemisphere occulted by the disc, or a white dwarf with an optically thick boundary layer significantly extended in latitude up and down its sides. The most likely of these models for each system is an unocculted white dwarf with no boundary layer contributing significantly to the optical flux, or a white dwarf totally covered by an optically thick boundary layer. (author)

The historical record for Sirius - Evidence for a white-dwarf thermonuclear runaway?

Science.gov (United States)

Bruhweiler, Frederick C.; Kondo, Yoji; Sion, Edward M.

1986-01-01

Evidence was recently presented that in medieval times Sirius was a bright red star, rather than the present bluish-white star. Here, the results of attempts to detect possible planetary nebula ejecta toward Sirius using data obtained by the IUE are presented. Based on these results and in the light of recent advances in understanding white-dwarf evolution, it is proposed that Sirius B underwent a recent thermonuclear runaway event triggered by a diffusion-induced CN reaction.

A white dwarf cooling age of 8 Gyr for NGC 6791 from physical separation processes.

Science.gov (United States)

García-Berro, Enrique; Torres, Santiago; Althaus, Leandro G; Renedo, Isabel; Lorén-Aguilar, Pablo; Córsico, Alejandro H; Rohrmann, René D; Salaris, Maurizio; Isern, Jordi

2010-05-13

NGC 6791 is a well studied open cluster that it is so close to us that can be imaged down to very faint luminosities. The main-sequence turn-off age ( approximately 8 Gyr) and the age derived from the termination of the white dwarf cooling sequence ( approximately 6 Gyr) are very different. One possible explanation is that as white dwarfs cool, one of the ashes of helium burning, (22)Ne, sinks in the deep interior of these stars. At lower temperatures, white dwarfs are expected to crystallize and phase separation of the main constituents of the core of a typical white dwarf ((12)C and (16)O) is expected to occur. This sequence of events is expected to introduce long delays in the cooling times, but has not hitherto been proven. Here we report that, as theoretically anticipated, physical separation processes occur in the cores of white dwarfs, resolving the age discrepancy for NGC 6791.

An upper limit to the secular variation of the gravitational constant from white dwarf stars

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

García-Berro, Enrique; Lorén-Aguilar, Pablo; Torres, Santiago [Departament de Física Aplicada, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, c/Esteve Terrades, 5, 08860 Castelldefels (Spain); Althaus, Leandro G. [Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Paseo del Bosque s/n, (1900) La Plata (Argentina); Isern, Jordi, E-mail: garcia@fa.upc.edu, E-mail: loren@fa.upc.edu, E-mail: santi@fa.upc.edu, E-mail: althaus@fcaglp.fcaglp.unlp.edu.ar, E-mail: isern@ieec.cat [Institut de Ciències de l' Espai (CSIC), Campus UAB, 08193 Bellaterra (Spain)

2011-05-01

A variation of the gravitational constant over cosmological ages modifies the main sequence lifetimes and white dwarf cooling ages. Using an state-of-the-art stellar evolutionary code we compute the effects of a secularly varying G on the main sequence ages and, employing white dwarf cooling ages computed taking into account the effects of a running G, we place constraints on the rate of variation of Newton's constant. This is done using the white dwarf luminosity function and the distance of the well studied open Galactic cluster NGC 6791. We derive an upper bound Ġ/G ∼ −1.8 × 10{sup −12} yr{sup −1}. This upper limit for the secular variation of the gravitational constant compares favorably with those obtained using other stellar evolutionary properties, and can be easily improved if deep images of the cluster allow to obtain an improved white dwarf luminosity function.

The polluted atmospheres of cool white dwarfs and the magnetic field connection

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Kawka, Adela; Vennes, Stephane

2014-01-01

Roč. 439, č. 1 (2014), L90-L94 ISSN 0035-8711 R&D Projects: GA ČR GAP209/12/0217; GA ČR GA13-14581S Institutional support: RVO:67985815 Keywords : white dwarfs * stars: abundances * stars: atmospheres Subject RIV: BN - Astronomy , Celestial Mechanics, Astrophysics Impact factor: 5.107, year: 2014

A Massive-born Neutron Star with a Massive White Dwarf Companion

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cognard, Ismaël; Guillemot, Lucas; Theureau, Gilles [Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie de l’Environnement et de l’Espace, Université d’Orléans/CNRS, F-45071 Orléans Cedex 02 (France); Freire, Paulo C. C. [Station de radioastronomie de Nançay, Observatoire de Paris, CNRS/INSU, F-18330 Nançay (France); Tauris, Thomas M.; Wex, Norbert; Graikou, Eleni; Kramer, Michael; Desvignes, Gregory; Lazarus, Patrick [Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie, Auf dem Hügel 69, D-53121 Bonn (Germany); Stappers, Benjamin; Lyne, Andrew G. [Jodrell Bank Center for Astrophysics, School of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Manchester, M13 9PL (United Kingdom); Bassa, Cees [ASTRON, The Netherlands Institute for Radioastronomy, Postbus 2, 7900 AA, Dwingeloo (Netherlands)

2017-08-01

We report on the results of a 4 year timing campaign of PSR J2222−0137, a 2.44 day binary pulsar with a massive white dwarf (WD) companion, with the Nançay, Effelsberg, and Lovell radio telescopes. Using the Shapiro delay for this system, we find a pulsar mass m {sub p} = 1.76 ± 0.06 M {sub ⊙} and a WD mass m {sub c} = 1.293 ± 0.025 M {sub ⊙}. We also measure the rate of advance of periastron for this system, which is marginally consistent with the general relativity prediction for these masses. The short lifetime of the massive WD progenitor star led to a rapid X-ray binary phase with little (< 10{sup −2} M {sub ⊙}) mass accretion onto the neutron star; hence, the current pulsar mass is, within uncertainties, its birth mass, which is the largest measured to date. We discuss the discrepancy with previous mass measurements for this system; we conclude that the measurements presented here are likely to be more accurate. Finally, we highlight the usefulness of this system for testing alternative theories of gravity by tightly constraining the presence of dipolar radiation. This is of particular importance for certain aspects of strong-field gravity, like spontaneous scalarization, since the mass of PSR J2222−0137 puts that system into a poorly tested parameter range.

Maximum mass ratio of AM CVn-type binary systems and maximum white dwarf mass in ultra-compact X-ray binaries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arbutina Bojan

2011-01-01

Full Text Available AM CVn-type stars and ultra-compact X-ray binaries are extremely interesting semi-detached close binary systems in which the Roche lobe filling component is a white dwarf transferring mass to another white dwarf, neutron star or a black hole. Earlier theoretical considerations show that there is a maximum mass ratio of AM CVn-type binary systems (qmax ≈ 2/3 below which the mass transfer is stable. In this paper we derive slightly different value for qmax and more interestingly, by applying the same procedure, we find the maximum expected white dwarf mass in ultra-compact X-ray binaries.

The kinematics of the white dwarf population from the SDSS DR12

Science.gov (United States)

Anguiano, B.; Rebassa-Mansergas, A.; García-Berro, E.; Torres, S.; Freeman, K.; Zwitter, T.

2018-04-01

We use the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 12, which is the largest available white dwarf catalog to date, to study the evolution of the kinematical properties of the population of white dwarfs in the Galactic disc. We derive masses, ages, photometric distances and radial velocities for all white dwarfs with hydrogen-rich atmospheres. For those stars for which proper motions from the USNO-B1 catalog are available the true three-dimensional components of the stellar space velocity are obtained. This subset of the original sample comprises 20,247 objects, making it the largest sample of white dwarfs with measured three-dimensional velocities. Furthermore, the volume probed by our sample is large, allowing us to obtain relevant kinematical information. In particular, our sample extends from a Galactocentric radial distance R G = 7.8 kpc to 9.3 kpc, and vertical distances from the Galactic plane ranging from Z = -0.5 kpc to 0.5 kpc. We examine the mean components of the stellar three-dimensional velocities, as well as their dispersions with respect to the Galactocentric and vertical distances. We confirm the existence of a mean Galactocentric radial velocity gradient, ∂/∂R G = -3 +/- 5 km s-1 kpc-1. We also confirm North-South differences in . Specifically, we find that white dwarfs with Z > 0 (in the North Galactic hemisphere) have reverse is true for white dwarfs with Z < 0. The age-velocity dispersion relation derived from the present sample indicates that the Galactic population of white dwarfs may have experienced an additional source of heating, which adds to the secular evolution of the Galactic disc.

Wave energy in white dwarf atmospheres. I - Magnetohydrodynamic energy spectra for homogeneous DB and layered DA stars

Science.gov (United States)

Musielak, Zdzislaw E.

1987-01-01

The radiative damping of acoustic and MHD waves that propagate through white dwarf photospheric layers is studied, and other damping processes that may be important for the propagation of the MHD waves are calculated. The amount of energy remaining after the damping processes have occurred in different types of waves is estimated. The results show that lower acoustic fluxes should be expected in layered DA and homogeneous DB white dwarfs than had previously been estimated. Acoustic emission manifests itself in an enhancement of the quadrupole term, but this term may become comparable to or even lower than the dipole term for cool white dwarfs. Energy carried by the acoustic waves is significantly dissipated in deep photospheric layers, mainly because of radiative damping. Acoustically heated corona cannot exist around DA and DB white dwarfs in a range T(eff) = 10,000-30,000 K and for log g = 7 and 8. However, relatively hot and massive white dwarfs could be exceptions.

STIS observations of five hot white dwarfs

OpenAIRE

Bannister, N. P.; Barstow, M. A.; Holberg, J. B.; Bruhweiler, F. C.

2000-01-01

We present some early results from a study of five hot DA white dwarf stars, based on spectra obtained using STIS. All show multiple components in one or more of the strong resonance absorption lines typically associated with the stellar photosphere (e.g. C IV, Si IV, N V and O V). Possible relationships between the non-photospheric velocity components and the interstellar medium or local stellar environment, are investigated, including contributions from gravitational redshifting.

Evolution Models of Helium White Dwarf–Main-sequence Star Merger Remnants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Xianfei; Bi, Shaolan; Hall, Philip D.; Jeffery, C. Simon

2017-01-01

It is predicted that orbital decay by gravitational-wave radiation and tidal interaction will cause some close binary stars to merge within a Hubble time. The merger of a helium-core white dwarf with a main-sequence (MS) star can produce a red giant branch star that has a low-mass hydrogen envelope when helium is ignited and thus become a hot subdwarf. Because detailed calculations have not been made, we compute post-merger models with a stellar evolution code. We find the evolutionary paths available to merger remnants and find the pre-merger conditions that lead to the formation of hot subdwarfs. We find that some such mergers result in the formation of stars with intermediate helium-rich surfaces. These stars later develop helium-poor surfaces owing to diffusion. Combining our results with a model population and comparing to observed stars, we find that some observed intermediate helium-rich hot subdwarfs can be explained as the remnants of the mergers of helium-core white dwarfs with low-mass MS stars.

Evolution Models of Helium White Dwarf–Main-sequence Star Merger Remnants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, Xianfei; Bi, Shaolan [Department of Astronomy, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875 (China); Hall, Philip D.; Jeffery, C. Simon, E-mail: zxf@bnu.edu.cn [Armagh Observatory, College Hill, Armagh BT61 9DG (United Kingdom)

2017-02-01

It is predicted that orbital decay by gravitational-wave radiation and tidal interaction will cause some close binary stars to merge within a Hubble time. The merger of a helium-core white dwarf with a main-sequence (MS) star can produce a red giant branch star that has a low-mass hydrogen envelope when helium is ignited and thus become a hot subdwarf. Because detailed calculations have not been made, we compute post-merger models with a stellar evolution code. We find the evolutionary paths available to merger remnants and find the pre-merger conditions that lead to the formation of hot subdwarfs. We find that some such mergers result in the formation of stars with intermediate helium-rich surfaces. These stars later develop helium-poor surfaces owing to diffusion. Combining our results with a model population and comparing to observed stars, we find that some observed intermediate helium-rich hot subdwarfs can be explained as the remnants of the mergers of helium-core white dwarfs with low-mass MS stars.

CRYSTAL CHEMISTRY OF THREE-COMPONENT WHITE DWARFS AND NEUTRON STAR CRUSTS: PHASE STABILITY, PHASE STRATIFICATION, AND PHYSICAL PROPERTIES

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Engstrom, T. A.; Yoder, N. C.; Crespi, V. H., E-mail: tae146@psu.edu, E-mail: ncy5007@psu.edu, E-mail: vhc2@psu.edu [Department of Physics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802 (United States)

2016-02-20

A systematic search for multicomponent crystal structures is carried out for five different ternary systems of nuclei in a polarizable background of electrons, representative of accreted neutron star crusts and some white dwarfs. Candidate structures are “bred” by a genetic algorithm and optimized at constant pressure under the assumption of linear response (Thomas–Fermi) charge screening. Subsequent phase equilibria calculations reveal eight distinct crystal structures in the T = 0 bulk phase diagrams, five of which are complicated multinary structures not previously predicted in the context of compact object astrophysics. Frequent instances of geometrically similar but compositionally distinct phases give insight into structural preferences of systems with pairwise Yukawa interactions, including and extending to the regime of low-density colloidal suspensions made in a laboratory. As an application of these main results, we self-consistently couple the phase stability problem to the equations for a self-gravitating, hydrostatically stable white dwarf, with fixed overall composition. To our knowledge, this is the first attempt to incorporate complex multinary phases into the equilibrium phase-layering diagram and mass–radius-composition dependence, both of which are reported for He–C–O and C–O–Ne white dwarfs. Finite thickness interfacial phases (“interphases”) show up at the boundaries between single-component body-centered cubic (bcc) crystalline regions, some of which have lower lattice symmetry than cubic. A second application—quasi-static settling of heavy nuclei in white dwarfs—builds on our equilibrium phase-layering method. Tests of this nonequilibrium method reveal extra phases that play the role of transient host phases for the settling species.

COOL WHITE DWARFS IDENTIFIED IN THE SECOND DATA RELEASE OF THE UKIRT INFRARED DEEP SKY SURVEY

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lodieu, N.; Leggett, S. K.; Nitta, A.; Bergeron, P.

2009-01-01

We have paired the second data release of the Large Area Survey of the UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey with the fifth data release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey to identify 10 cool white dwarf candidates, from their photometry and astrometry. Of these 10, one was previously known to be a very cool white dwarf. We have obtained optical spectroscopy for seven of the candidates using the GMOS-N spectrograph on Gemini North, and have confirmed all seven as white dwarfs. Our photometry and astrometry indicate that the remaining two objects are also white dwarfs. The model analysis of the photometry and available spectroscopy shows that the seven confirmed new white dwarfs, and the two new likely white dwarfs, have effective temperatures in the range of T eff = 5400-6600 K. Our analysis of the previously known white dwarf confirms that it is cool, with T eff = 3800 K. The cooling age for this dwarf is 8.7 Gyr, while that for the nine ∼ 6000 K white dwarfs is 1.8-3.6 Gyr. We are unable to determine the masses of the white dwarfs from the existing data, and therefore we cannot constrain the total ages of the white dwarfs. The large cooling age for the coolest white dwarf in the sample, combined with its low estimated tangential velocity, suggests that it is an old member of the thin disk, or a member of the thick disk of the Galaxy, with an age of 10-11 Gyr. The warmer white dwarfs appear to have velocities typical of the thick disk or even halo; these may be very old remnants of low-mass stars, or they may be relatively young thin-disk objects with unusually high space motion.

THE FREQUENCY OF DEBRIS DISKS AT WHITE DWARFS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Barber, Sara D.; Patterson, Adam J.; Kilic, Mukremin [Homer L. Dodge Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Oklahoma, 440 W. Brooks St., Norman, OK 73019 (United States); Leggett, S. K. [Gemini Observatory, 670 N. A' ohoku Place, Hilo, HI 96720 (United States); Dufour, P. [Departement de Physique, Universite de Montreal, C.P. 6128, Succursale Centre-Ville, Montreal, Quebec H3C 3J7 (Canada); Bloom, J. S.; Starr, D. L., E-mail: barber@nhn.ou.edu [Department of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States)

2012-11-20

We present near- and mid-infrared photometry and spectroscopy from PAIRITEL, IRTF, and Spitzer of a metallicity-unbiased sample of 117 cool, hydrogen-atmosphere white dwarfs (WDs) from the Palomar-Green survey and find five with excess radiation in the infrared, translating to a 4.3{sup +2.7} {sub -1.2}% frequency of debris disks. This is slightly higher than, but consistent with the results of previous surveys. Using an initial-final mass relation, we apply this result to the progenitor stars of our sample and conclude that 1-7 M {sub Sun} stars have at least a 4.3% chance of hosting planets; an indirect probe of the intermediate-mass regime eluding conventional exoplanetary detection methods. Alternatively, we interpret this result as a limit on accretion timescales as a fraction of WD cooling ages; WDs accrete debris from several generations of disks for {approx}10 Myr. The average total mass accreted by these stars ranges from that of 200 km asteroids to Ceres-sized objects, indicating that WDs accrete moons and dwarf planets as well as solar system asteroid analogs.

THE FREQUENCY OF DEBRIS DISKS AT WHITE DWARFS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barber, Sara D.; Patterson, Adam J.; Kilic, Mukremin; Leggett, S. K.; Dufour, P.; Bloom, J. S.; Starr, D. L.

2012-01-01

We present near- and mid-infrared photometry and spectroscopy from PAIRITEL, IRTF, and Spitzer of a metallicity-unbiased sample of 117 cool, hydrogen-atmosphere white dwarfs (WDs) from the Palomar-Green survey and find five with excess radiation in the infrared, translating to a 4.3 +2.7 –1.2 % frequency of debris disks. This is slightly higher than, but consistent with the results of previous surveys. Using an initial-final mass relation, we apply this result to the progenitor stars of our sample and conclude that 1-7 M ☉ stars have at least a 4.3% chance of hosting planets; an indirect probe of the intermediate-mass regime eluding conventional exoplanetary detection methods. Alternatively, we interpret this result as a limit on accretion timescales as a fraction of WD cooling ages; WDs accrete debris from several generations of disks for ∼10 Myr. The average total mass accreted by these stars ranges from that of 200 km asteroids to Ceres-sized objects, indicating that WDs accrete moons and dwarf planets as well as solar system asteroid analogs.

Kinematic, Photometric, and Spectroscopic Properties of Faint White Dwarf Stars Discovered in the HALO7D Survey of the Milky Way Galaxy

Science.gov (United States)

Harris, Madison; Cunningham, Emily; Guhathakurta, Puragra; Cheshire, Ishani; Gupta, Nandita

2018-01-01

White dwarf (WD) stars represent the final phase in the life of solar-mass stars. The extreme low luminosity of WDs means that most detailed measurements of such stars are limited to samples in the immediate neighborhood of the Sun in the thin disk of the Milky Way galaxy. We present spectra, line-of-sight (LOS) velocities, and proper motions (PMs) of a sample of faint (m_V ~ 19.0–24.5) white dwarfs (WDs) from the HALO7D survey. HALO7D is a Keck II/DEIMOS spectroscopic survey of unprecedented depth (8–24 hour integrations) in the CANDELS fields of main sequence turnoff stars in the Milky Way's outer halo. Faint WD stars are rare but useful by-products of this survey. We identify the sample of WDs based on their characteristic broad spectral Balmer absorption features, and present a Bayesian method for measuring their LOS velocities. Using their broadband colors, LOS velocities and PMs measured with the Hubble Space Telescope, we identify candidate halo members among the WDs based on the predicted velocity distributions from the Besançon numerical model of stellar populations in the Milky Way galaxy. The WDs found in the HALO7D survey will yield new insights on the old stellar population associated with the Milky Way's thick disk and halo. Funding for this research was provided by the National Science Foundation and NASA/STScI. NG and IC's participation in this research was under the auspices of the Science Internship Program at the University of California Santa Cruz.

The gravitational wave emission from white dwarf interactions in globular clusters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Loren-Aguilar, P; Garcia-Berro, E; Lobo, J A; Isern, J

2009-01-01

In the dense central regions of globular clusters close encounters of two white dwarfs are relatively frequent. The estimated frequency is one or more strong encounters per star in the lifetime of the cluster. Such encounters should be then potential sources of gravitational wave radiation. Thus, it is foreseeable that these collisions could be either individually detected by LISA or they could contribute significantly to the background noise of the detector. We compute the pattern of gravitational wave emission from these encounters for a sufficiently broad range of system parameters, namely the masses, the relative velocities and the distances of the two white dwarfs involved in the encounter.

EVOLUTION OF WHITE DWARF STARS WITH HIGH-METALLICITY PROGENITORS: THE ROLE OF 22Ne DIFFUSION

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Althaus, L. G.; Corsico, A. H.; GarcIa-Berro, E.; Renedo, I.; Isern, J.; Rohrmann, R. D.

2010-01-01

Motivated by the strong discrepancy between the main-sequence turnoff age and the white dwarf cooling age in the metal-rich open cluster NGC 6791, we compute a grid of white dwarf evolutionary sequences that incorporates for the first time the energy released by the processes of 22 Ne sedimentation and of carbon/oxygen phase separation upon crystallization. The grid covers the mass range from 0.52 to 1.0 M sun , and is appropriate for the study of white dwarfs in metal-rich clusters. The evolutionary calculations are based on a detailed and self-consistent treatment of the energy released from these two processes, as well as on the employment of realistic carbon/oxygen profiles, of relevance for an accurate evaluation of the energy released by carbon/oxygen phase separation. We find that 22 Ne sedimentation strongly delays the cooling rate of white dwarfs stemming from progenitors with high metallicities at moderate luminosities, while carbon/oxygen phase separation adds considerable delays at low luminosities. Cooling times are sensitive to possible uncertainties in the actual value of the diffusion coefficient of 22 Ne. Changing the diffusion coefficient by a factor of 2 leads to maximum age differences of ∼8%-20% depending on the stellar mass. We find that the magnitude of the delays resulting from chemical changes in the core is consistent with the slowdown in the white dwarf cooling rate that is required to solve the age discrepancy in NGC 6791.

WDEC: A Code for Modeling White Dwarf Structure and Pulsations

Science.gov (United States)

Bischoff-Kim, Agnès; Montgomery, Michael H.

2018-05-01

The White Dwarf Evolution Code (WDEC), written in Fortran, makes models of white dwarf stars. It is fast, versatile, and includes the latest physics. The code evolves hot (∼100,000 K) input models down to a chosen effective temperature by relaxing the models to be solutions of the equations of stellar structure. The code can also be used to obtain g-mode oscillation modes for the models. WDEC has a long history going back to the late 1960s. Over the years, it has been updated and re-packaged for modern computer architectures and has specifically been used in computationally intensive asteroseismic fitting. Generations of white dwarf astronomers and dozens of publications have made use of the WDEC, although the last true instrument paper is the original one, published in 1975. This paper discusses the history of the code, necessary to understand why it works the way it does, details the physics and features in the code today, and points the reader to where to find the code and a user guide.

Pulsations of white dwarf stars with thick hydrogen or helium surface layers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cox, A.N.; Starrfield, S.G.; Kidman, R.B.; Pesnell, W.D.

1986-07-01

In order to see if there could be agreement between results of stellar evolution theory and those of nonradial pulsation theory, calculations of white dwarf models have been made for hydrogen surface masses of 10/sup -4/ solar masses. Earlier results indicated that surface masses greater than 10/sup -8/ solar masses would not allow nonradial pulsations, even though all the driving and damping is in surface layers only 10/sup -12/ of the mass thick. It is shown that the surface mass of hydrogen in the pulsating white dwarfs (ZZ Ceti variables) can be any value as long as it is thick enough to contain the surface convection zone. 10 refs., 6 figs.

White-dwarf-white-dwarf galactic background in the LISA data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Edlund, Jeffrey A.; Tinto, Massimo; Krolak, Andrzej; Nelemans, Gijs

2005-01-01

LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna) is a proposed space mission, which will use coherent laser beams exchanged between three remote spacecraft to detect and study low-frequency cosmic gravitational radiation. In the low part of its frequency band, the LISA strain sensitivity will be dominated by the incoherent superposition of hundreds of millions of gravitational wave signals radiated by inspiraling white-dwarf binaries present in our own Galaxy. In order to estimate the magnitude of the LISA response to this background, we have simulated a synthesized population that recently appeared in the literature. Our approach relies on entirely analytic expressions of the LISA time-delay interferometric responses to the gravitational radiation emitted by such systems, which allows us to implement a computationally efficient and accurate simulation of the background in the LISA data. We find the amplitude of the galactic white-dwarf binary background in the LISA data to be modulated in time, reaching a minimum equal to about twice that of the LISA noise for a period of about two months around the time when the Sun-LISA direction is roughly oriented towards the Autumn equinox. This suggests that, during this time period, LISA could search for other gravitational wave signals incoming from directions that are away from the galactic plane. Since the galactic white-dwarf background will be observed by LISA not as a stationary but rather as a cyclostationary random process with a period of 1 yr, we summarize the theory of cyclostationary random processes, present the corresponding generalized spectral method needed to characterize such process, and make a comparison between our analytic results and those obtained by applying our method to the simulated data. We find that, by measuring the generalized spectral components of the white-dwarf background, LISA will be able to infer properties of the distribution of the white-dwarf binary systems present in our Galaxy

Accurate collision integrals for the attractive static screened Coulomb potential with application to electrical conductivity. [For white dwarf stars

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Macdonald, J. (Delaware, University, Newark (USA))

1991-05-01

The results of accurate calculations of collision integrals for the attractive static screened Coulomb potential are presented. To obtain high accuracy with minimal computational cost, the integrals are evaluated by a quadrature method based on the Whittaker cardinal function. The collision integrals for the attractive potential are needed for calculation of the electrical conductivity of a dense fully or partially ionized plasma, and the results presented here are appropriate for the conditions in the nondegenerate envelopes of white dwarf stars. 25 refs.

White dwarfs in the WTS: Eclipsing binaries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Burleigh M.R.

2013-04-01

Full Text Available We have identified photometric white dwarf candidates in the WFCAM transit survey through a reduced proper motion versus colour approach. Box-fitting with parameters adjusted to detect the unique signature of a white dwarf + planet/brown dwarf transit/eclipse event was performed, as well as looking for variability due to the irradiation of the companions atmosphere by the white dwarf's high UV flux. We have also performed a simple sensitivity analysis in order to assess the ability of the survey to detect companions to white dwarfs via the transit method.

On type Ia supernovae and the formation of single low-mass white dwarfs

OpenAIRE

Justham, Stephen; Wolf, Christian; Podsiadlowski, Philipp; Han, Zhanwen

2008-01-01

There is still considerable debate over the progenitors of type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia). Likewise, it is not agreed how single white dwarfs with masses less than ~0.5 Msun can be formed in the field, even though they are known to exist. We consider whether single low-mass white dwarfs (LMWDs) could have been formed in binary systems where their companions have exploded as a SN Ia. In this model, the observed single LMWDs are the remnants of giant-branch donor stars whose envelopes have been st...

K2 Ultracool Dwarfs Survey. II. The White Light Flare Rate of Young Brown Dwarfs

Science.gov (United States)

Gizis, John E.; Paudel, Rishi R.; Mullan, Dermott; Schmidt, Sarah J.; Burgasser, Adam J.; Williams, Peter K. G.

2017-08-01

We use Kepler K2 Campaign 4 short-cadence (one-minute) photometry to measure white light flares in the young, moving group brown dwarfs 2MASS J03350208+2342356 (2M0335+23) and 2MASS J03552337+1133437 (2M0355+11), and report on long-cadence (thirty-minute) photometry of a superflare in the Pleiades M8 brown dwarf CFHT-PL-17. The rotation period (5.24 hr) and projected rotational velocity (45 km s-1) confirm 2M0335+23 is inflated (R≥slant 0.20 {R}⊙ ) as predicted for a 0.06 {M}⊙ , 24 Myr old brown dwarf βPic moving group member. We detect 22 white light flares on 2M0335+23. The flare frequency distribution follows a power-law distribution with slope -α =-1.8+/- 0.2 over the range 1031 to 1033 erg. This slope is similar to that observed in the Sun and warmer flare stars, and is consistent with lower-energy flares in previous work on M6-M8 very-low-mass stars; taking the two data sets together, the flare frequency distribution for ultracool dwarfs is a power law over 4.3 orders of magnitude. The superflare (2.6× {10}34 erg) on CFHT-PL-17 shows higher-energy flares are possible. We detect no flares down to a limit of 2× {10}30 erg in the nearby L5γ AB Dor moving group brown dwarf 2M0355+11, consistent with the view that fast magnetic reconnection is suppressed in cool atmospheres. We discuss two multi-peaked flares observed in 2M0335+23, and argue that these complex flares can be understood as sympathetic flares, in which fast-mode magnetohydrodynamic waves similar to extreme-ultraviolet waves in the Sun trigger magnetic reconnection in different active regions.

The cool magnetic DAZ white dwarf NLTT 10480

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Kawka, Adela; Vennes, Stephane

2011-01-01

Roč. 532, August (2011), A7/1-A7/8 ISSN 0004-6361 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR(CZ) IAA300030908; GA AV ČR IAA301630901; GA ČR GAP209/10/0967; GA MŠk(CZ) LC06014 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10030501 Keywords : white dwarfs * individual star NLTT 10480 Subject RIV: BN - Astronomy, Celestial Mechanics, Astrophysics Impact factor: 4.587, year: 2011

On the Detection and Characterization of Polluted White Dwarfs

Science.gov (United States)

Steele, Amy; Debes, John H.; Deming, Drake

2017-06-01

There is evidence of circumstellar material around main sequence, giant, and white dwarf stars. What happens to this material after the main sequence? With this work, we focus on the characterization of the material around WD 1145+017. The goals are to monitor the white dwarf—which has a transiting, disintegrating planetesimal and determine the composition of the evaporated material for that same white dwarf by looking at high-resolution spectra. We also present preliminary results of follow-up photometric observations of known polluted WDs. If rocky bodies survive red giant branch evolution, then the material raining down on a WD atmosphere is a direct probe of main sequence cosmochemistry. If rocky bodies do not survive the evolution, then this informs the degree of post-main-sequence processing. These case studies will provide the community with further insight about debris disk modeling, the degree of post-main-sequence processing of circumstellar material, and the composition of a disintegrating planetesimal.

Merging white dwarfs and thermonuclear supernovae.

Science.gov (United States)

van Kerkwijk, M H

2013-06-13

Thermonuclear supernovae result when interaction with a companion reignites nuclear fusion in a carbon-oxygen white dwarf, causing a thermonuclear runaway, a catastrophic gain in pressure and the disintegration of the whole white dwarf. It is usually thought that fusion is reignited in near-pycnonuclear conditions when the white dwarf approaches the Chandrasekhar mass. I briefly describe two long-standing problems faced by this scenario, and the suggestion that these supernovae instead result from mergers of carbon-oxygen white dwarfs, including those that produce sub-Chandrasekhar-mass remnants. I then turn to possible observational tests, in particular, those that test the absence or presence of electron captures during the burning.

K2 Ultracool Dwarfs Survey. III. White Light Flares Are Ubiquitous in M6-L0 Dwarfs

Science.gov (United States)

Paudel, Rishi R.; Gizis, John E.; Mullan, D. J.; Schmidt, Sarah J.; Burgasser, Adam J.; Williams, Peter K. G.; Berger, Edo

2018-05-01

We report the white light flare rates for 10 ultracool dwarfs using Kepler K2 short-cadence data. Among our sample stars, two have spectral type M6, three are M7, three are M8, and two are L0. Most of our targets are old low-mass stars. We identify a total of 283 flares in all of the stars in our sample, with Kepler energies in the range log E Kp ∼ (29–33.5) erg. Using the maximum-likelihood method of line fitting, we find that the flare frequency distribution (FFD) for each star in our sample follows a power law with slope ‑α in the range ‑(1.3–2.0). We find that cooler objects tend to have shallower slopes. For some of our targets, the FFD follows either a broken power law, or a power law with an exponential cutoff. For the L0 dwarf 2MASS J12321827-0951502, we find a very shallow slope (‑α = ‑1.3) in the Kepler energy range (0.82–130) × 1030 erg: this L0 dwarf has flare rates which are comparable to those of high-energy flares in stars of earlier spectral types. In addition, we report photometry of two superflares: one on the L0 dwarf 2MASS J12321827-0951502 and another on the M7 dwarf 2MASS J08352366+1029318. In the case of 2MASS J12321827-0951502, we report a flare brightening by a factor of ∼144 relative to the quiescent photospheric level. Likewise, for 2MASS J08352366+1029318, we report a flare brightening by a factor of ∼60 relative to the quiescent photospheric level. These two superflares have bolometric (ultraviolet/optical/infrared) energies 3.6 × 1033 erg and 8.9 × 1033 erg respectively, while the full width half maximum timescales are very short, ∼2 min. We find that the M8 star TRAPPIST-1 is more active than the M8.5 dwarf 2M03264453+1919309, but less active than another M8 dwarf (2M12215066-0843197).

Pulsational instability of high-luminosity H-rich pre-white dwarf star

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Calcaferro Leila M.

2017-01-01

Full Text Available We present a pulsational stability analysis on high-luminosity H-rich (DA white dwarf models evolved from low-metallicity progenitors. We found that the ε mechanism due to H-shell burning is able to excite low-order g modes.

White dwarf cosmochronology in the solar neighborhood

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tremblay, P.-E.; Kalirai, J. S.; Soderblom, D. R.; Cignoni, M. [Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States); Cummings, J., E-mail: tremblay@stsci.edu [Center for Astrophysical Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States)

2014-08-20

The study of the stellar formation history in the solar neighborhood is a powerful technique to recover information about the early stages and evolution of the Milky Way. We present a new method that consists of directly probing the formation history from the nearby stellar remnants. We rely on the volume complete sample of white dwarfs within 20 pc, where accurate cooling ages and masses have been determined. The well characterized initial-final mass relation is employed in order to recover the initial masses (1 ≲ M {sub initial}/M {sub ☉} ≲ 8) and total ages for the local degenerate sample. We correct for moderate biases that are necessary to transform our results to a global stellar formation rate, which can be compared to similar studies based on the properties of main-sequence stars in the solar neighborhood. Our method provides precise formation rates for all ages except in very recent times, and the results suggest an enhanced formation rate for the solar neighborhood in the last 5 Gyr compared to the range 5 < Age (Gyr) < 10. Furthermore, the observed total age of ∼10 Gyr for the oldest white dwarfs in the local sample is consistent with the early seminal studies that have determined the age of the Galactic disk from stellar remnants. The main shortcoming of our study is the small size of the local white dwarf sample. However, the presented technique can be applied to larger samples in the future.

White dwarf cosmochronology in the solar neighborhood

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tremblay, P.-E.; Kalirai, J. S.; Soderblom, D. R.; Cignoni, M.; Cummings, J.

2014-01-01

The study of the stellar formation history in the solar neighborhood is a powerful technique to recover information about the early stages and evolution of the Milky Way. We present a new method that consists of directly probing the formation history from the nearby stellar remnants. We rely on the volume complete sample of white dwarfs within 20 pc, where accurate cooling ages and masses have been determined. The well characterized initial-final mass relation is employed in order to recover the initial masses (1 ≲ M initial /M ☉ ≲ 8) and total ages for the local degenerate sample. We correct for moderate biases that are necessary to transform our results to a global stellar formation rate, which can be compared to similar studies based on the properties of main-sequence stars in the solar neighborhood. Our method provides precise formation rates for all ages except in very recent times, and the results suggest an enhanced formation rate for the solar neighborhood in the last 5 Gyr compared to the range 5 < Age (Gyr) < 10. Furthermore, the observed total age of ∼10 Gyr for the oldest white dwarfs in the local sample is consistent with the early seminal studies that have determined the age of the Galactic disk from stellar remnants. The main shortcoming of our study is the small size of the local white dwarf sample. However, the presented technique can be applied to larger samples in the future.

Accretion onto hot white dwarfs in relation to symbiotic novae

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Livio, M.; Prialnik, D.; Regev, O.

1989-01-01

Numerical calculations are used to study the hydrodynamic evolution of a hot white dwarf with 1 solar mass accreting hydrogen-rich matter at rates between 10 to the -8th and 10 to the -6th solar masses/yr. It is found that for accretion at a rate of about 10 to the -8th solar masses/yr, nova-type outbursts of long duration occur at intervals of about 1500 yr. About half of the accreted envelope is ejected during these outbursts. At a rate of about 10 to the -7th solar masses/yr, the star alternates between comparable periods at a high plateau luminosity and giant dimensions and periods at a low luminosity and white dwarf dimension. At 10 to the -6th solar masses/yr, equilibrium is achieved with a typical red giant luminosity supported by steady hydrogen burning. It is concluded that symbiotic novae are more likely to occur in detached systems involving wind accretors. Thus, the contribution of symbiotic stars to the frequency of type I supernovae is severely constrained. 39 refs

THE DISCOVERY OF THE MOST METAL-RICH WHITE DWARF: COMPOSITION OF A TIDALLY DISRUPTED EXTRASOLAR DWARF PLANET

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dufour, P.; Fontaine, G.; Bergeron, P.; Lachapelle, F.-R.; Kilic, M.; Kleinman, S. J.; Leggett, S. K.

2010-01-01

Cool white dwarf stars are usually found to have an outer atmosphere that is practically pure in hydrogen or helium. However, a small fraction have traces of heavy elements that must originate from the accretion of extrinsic material, most probably circumstellar matter. Upon examining thousands of Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) spectra, we discovered that the helium-atmosphere white dwarf SDSS J073842.56+183509.6 shows the most severe metal pollution ever seen in the outermost layers of such stars. We present here a quantitative analysis of this exciting star by combining high signal-to-noise ratio follow-up spectroscopic and photometric observations with model atmospheres and evolutionary models. We determine the global structural properties of our target star, as well as the abundances of the most significant pollutants in its atmosphere, i.e., H, O, Na, Mg, Si, Ca, and Fe. The relative abundances of these elements imply that the source of the accreted material has a composition similar to that of Bulk Earth. We also report the signature of a circumstellar disk revealed through a large infrared excess in JHK photometry. Combined with our inferred estimate of the mass of the accreted material, this strongly suggests that we are witnessing the remains of a tidally disrupted extrasolar body that was as large as Ceres.

Activity-induced radial velocity variation of M dwarf stars

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Jan Marie; Korhonen, Heidi Helena

2012-01-01

that can drown out a planetary signature. Cool, low-mass M dwarf stars can be highly active, which can make detection of potentially habitable planets around these stars difficult. We investigate radial velocity variations caused by different activity (spot) patterns on M dwarf stars in order to determine...... the limits of detectability for small planets orbiting active M dwarfs. We report on our progress toward the aim of answering the following questions: What types of spot patterns are realistic for M dwarf stars? What effect will spots have on M dwarf RV measurements? Can jitter from M dwarf spots mimic...... planetary signals? What is the ideal observing wavelength to reduce M dwarf jitter?...

The WIRED Survey. IV. New Dust Disks from the McCook & Sion White Dwarf Catalog

Science.gov (United States)

Hoard, D.W.; Debes, John H.; Wachter, Stefanie; Leisawitz, David T.; Cohen, Martin

2013-01-01

We have compiled photometric data from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer All Sky Survey and other archival sources for the more than 2200 objects in the original McCook & Sion Catalog of Spectroscopically Identified White Dwarfs. We applied color-selection criteria to identify 28 targets whose infrared spectral energy distributions depart from the expectation for the white dwarf photosphere alone. Seven of these are previously known white dwarfs with circumstellar dust disks, five are known central stars of planetary nebulae, and six were excluded for being known binaries or having possible contamination of their infrared photometry. We fit white dwarf models to the spectral energy distributions of the remaining ten targets, and find seven new candidates with infrared excess suggesting the presence of a circumstellar dust disk. We compare the model dust disk properties for these new candidates with a comprehensive compilation of previously published parameters for known white dwarfs with dust disks. It is possible that the current census of white dwarfs with dust disks that produce an excess detectable at K-band and shorter wavelengths is close to complete for the entire sample of known WDs to the detection limits of existing near-IR all-sky surveys. The white dwarf dust disk candidates now being found using longer wavelength infrared data are drawn from a previously underrepresented region of parameter space, in which the dust disks are overall cooler, narrower in radial extent, and/or contain fewer emitting grains.

Accretion on to Magnetic White Dwarfs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wickramasinghe Dayal

2014-01-01

The polars have no counterparts in neutron star systems and their study provides unique insights into the complex nature of the magnetospheric boundary. The observed properties of accretion shocks at the white dwarf surface such as the anomalous soft-X-ray excess and its time variability provide strong support for the hypothesis that under certain circumstances the field channelled funnel flow is “blobby”. This has been attributed to interchange instabilities such as the Magnetic Rayleigh-Taylor instability in the shocked gas at the stream-magnetosphere boundary where the stream fragments into discrete clumps of gas. As the clumps penetrate into the magnetosphere, they are shredded into smaller mass blobs via the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability that then couple on to field lines over an extended inner transition region in the orbital plane. The more massive blobs penetrate deep into the photosphere of the white dwarf releasing their energy as a reprocessed soft-X-ray black body component. Although similar instabilities are expected in the inner transition region in disced accretion albeit on a different scale there has been no direct observational evidence for blobby accretion in the generally lower field and disced IPs.

Star Formation Histories of Nearby Dwarf Galaxies

OpenAIRE

Grebel, Eva K.

2000-01-01

Properties of nearby dwarf galaxies are briefly discussed. Dwarf galaxies vary widely in their star formation histories, the ages of their subpopulations, and in their enrichment history. Furthermore, many dwarf galaxies show evidence for spatial variations in their star formation history; often in the form of very extended old populations and radial gradients in age and metallicity. Determining factors in dwarf galaxy evolution appear to be both galaxy mass and environment. We may be observi...

Atmospheric studies of C2 white dwarfs

Science.gov (United States)

Swanson, Steven Roger

Model atmosphere and line formation calculations for the delta nu = + 1 Swan bands of the C2 molecule are presented for seven white dwarfs and are compared to high resolution optical spectra. Limits on the C-12 to C-13 ratio are computed for highly pressure broadened lines and are used to analyze the observed spectra for any sign of absorption by the (C-12)(C-13) molecule. The metal abundances in cool white dwarf atmospheres and the usefulness of the determination of the C-12 to C-13 ratio are discussed. The line center shift and the pressure broadening are used to determine a value for the van der Waals interaction constant, C6. This is done using a detailed line modelling program which explicitly includes approximately 2000 rotational transition lines within the vibrational bands, in conjunction with atmospheric models calculated by the LUCIFER atmosphere modelling program. The isotopic shift of the vibrational and rotational lines is also included in the model to compare the detectability of various C-12 to C-13 ratios. The line models fit the observed spectra with varying degrees of accuracy. One star, WD0548-001, shows an unusually small pressure shift and broadening for the high pressures that the atmospheric model predicts. The results show that only in the hottest stars with the least pressure broadened lines in this study can the isotopic effect be seen. With the data available, the best limit on the C-12 to C-13 ratio is a minimum of 40 for WD0856 + 331. The models show that even for very high signal to noise data, the isotopic shift in the Swan bands in very cool white dwarfs would be difficult to separate from the pressure broadening effects. It is shown that the isotopic ratio is high enough to rule out the possibility that the carbon is a relic from previous CNO burning.

Atmospheric studies of C2 white dwarfs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Swanson, S.R.

1989-01-01

Model atmosphere and line formation calculations for the delta nu = + 1 Swan bands of the C2 molecule are presented for seven white dwarfs and are compared to high resolution optical spectra. Limits on the C-12 to C-13 ratio are computed for highly pressure broadened lines and are used to analyze the observed spectra for any sign of absorption by the (C-12)(C-13) molecule. The metal abundances in cool white dwarf atmospheres and the usefulness of the determination of the C-12 to C-13 ratio are discussed. The line center shift and the pressure broadening are used to determine a value for the van der Waals interaction constant, C6. This is done using a detailed line modelling program which explicitly includes approximately 2000 rotational transition lines within the vibrational bands, in conjunction with atmospheric models calculated by the LUCIFER atmosphere modelling program. The isotopic shift of the vibrational and rotational lines is also included in the model to compare the detectability of various C-12 to C-13 ratios. The line models fit the observed spectra with varying degrees of accuracy. One star, WD0548-001, shows an unusually small pressure shift and broadening for the high pressures that the atmospheric model predicts. The results show that only in the hottest stars with the least pressure broadened lines in this study can the isotopic effect be seen. With the data available, the best limit on the C-12 to C-13 ratio is a minimum of 40 for WD0856 + 331. The models show that even for very high signal to noise data, the isotopic shift in the Swan bands in very cool white dwarfs would be difficult to separate from the pressure broadening effects. It is shown that the isotopic ratio is high enough to rule out the possibility that the carbon is a relic from previous CNO burning

Bound on the flux of magnetic monopoles from catalysis of nucleon decay in white dwarfs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Freese, K.; Krasteva, E.

1999-01-01

Catalysis of nucleon decay in white dwarfs is used to constrain the abundance of magnetic monopoles arising from grand unified theories. Recent discoveries of the dimmest white dwarf ever observed, WD 1136-286 with L=10 -4.94 L circle-dot , place limits on the monopole flux that are two orders of magnitude stronger than previous bounds from white dwarfs. An abundance of monopoles greater than the new bound would heat this star to a luminosity higher than what is observed. The new bound is (F/cm -2 s -1 sr -1 ) (συ/10 -28 cm 2 ) -20 (υ M /10 -3 c) 2 , where υ M is the monopole velocity in the Galaxy. The limit is improved by including the monopoles captured by the main-sequence progenitor of the white dwarf: (F/cm -2 s -1 sr -1 ) (συ/10 -28 cm 2 ) -21 for 10 17 (10 16 ) GeV monopoles. We also note that the dependence on monopole mass of flux bounds due to catalysis in neutron stars with main sequence accretion has previously been calculated incorrectly [previously the bound has been stated as F(συ/10 -28 cm 2 ) -28 cm -2 s -1 sr -1 ]. We show that the correct bounds are somewhat weaker for monopole mass other than 10 17 GeV. copyright 1999 The American Physical Society

ESO 439-162/163 - a common proper motion binary formed by a magnetic DQ and a DC type white dwarf

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ruiz, M.T.; Maza, J.

1988-01-01

In the course of a search for faint large proper motion stars, a common proper motion pair was identified having a mu = 0.38 + or - 0.03 arcsec/yr in the direction theta = 233 deg. The stars are separated by 23 arcsec and have apparent visual magnitudes 18.77 and 19.84, respectively. Spectrophotometry of the stars established that the fainter component is a cold DC white dwarf, while the brighter one is a magnetic white dwarf with strong Swan bands of C2 shifted and broadened by an about 10 to the 8th G magnetic field. 6 references

Merging White Dwarfs and Thermonuclear Supernovae

OpenAIRE

van Kerkwijk, Marten H.

2012-01-01

Thermonuclear supernovae result when interaction with a companion reignites nuclear fusion in a carbon-oxygen white dwarf, causing a thermonuclear runaway, a catastrophic gain in pressure, and the disintegration of the whole white dwarf. It is usually thought that fusion is reignited in near-pycnonuclear conditions when the white dwarf approaches the Chandrasekhar mass. I briefly describe two long-standing problems faced by this scenario, and our suggestion that these supernovae instead resul...

GD 154: White dwarf with multi- and monoperiodic pulsation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bognár Zs.

2013-03-01

Full Text Available We present the white dwarf GD 154 as an example where either monoperiodic or multiperiodic pulsation were found at different epochs. The mono-multi-monoperiodic stage seems to alternate. Many questions have been raised. Is this behaviour connected to the evolution of DAV stars? How often does it happen? Is there any regularity in this change of the pulsational behaviour or is it irregular?

NEW COOLING SEQUENCES FOR OLD WHITE DWARFS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Renedo, I.; Althaus, L. G.; GarcIa-Berro, E.; Miller Bertolami, M. M.; Romero, A. D.; Corsico, A. H.; Rohrmann, R. D.

2010-01-01

We present full evolutionary calculations appropriate for the study of hydrogen-rich DA white dwarfs. This is done by evolving white dwarf progenitors from the zero-age main sequence, through the core hydrogen-burning phase, the helium-burning phase, and the thermally pulsing asymptotic giant branch phase to the white dwarf stage. Complete evolutionary sequences are computed for a wide range of stellar masses and for two different metallicities, Z = 0.01, which is representative of the solar neighborhood, and Z = 0.001, which is appropriate for the study of old stellar systems, like globular clusters. During the white dwarf cooling stage, we self-consistently compute the phase in which nuclear reactions are still important, the diffusive evolution of the elements in the outer layers and, finally, we also take into account all the relevant energy sources in the deep interior of the white dwarf, such as the release of latent heat and the release of gravitational energy due to carbon-oxygen phase separation upon crystallization. We also provide colors and magnitudes for these sequences, based on a new set of improved non-gray white dwarf model atmospheres, which include the most up-to-date physical inputs like the Lyα quasi-molecular opacity. The calculations are extended down to an effective temperature of 2500 K. Our calculations provide a homogeneous set of evolutionary cooling tracks appropriate for mass and age determinations of old DA white dwarfs and for white dwarf cosmochronology of the different Galactic populations.

Global and photospheric physical parameters of active dwarf stars

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pettersen, B.R.

1983-01-01

Physical parameters (temperature, luminosity, radius, mass and chemical abundance) of the photospheres of red dwarf flare stars and spotted stars are determined for quiescent conditions. The interrelations between these quantities are compared to the results of theoretical investigation for low mass stars. The evolutionary state of flare stars is discussed. Observational results from spectroscopic and photometric methods to determine the rotation of active dwarfs are reviewed. The possibilities of global oscillations in dwarf stars are considered and preliminary results of a photometric search for oscillation in red dwarf luminosities are presented. (orig.)

Four new massive pulsating white dwarfs including an ultramassive DAV

Science.gov (United States)

Curd, Brandon; Gianninas, A.; Bell, Keaton J.; Kilic, Mukremin; Romero, A. D.; Allende Prieto, Carlos; Winget, D. E.; Winget, K. I.

2017-06-01

We report the discovery of four massive (M > 0.8 M⊙) ZZ Ceti white dwarfs, including an ultramassive 1.16 M⊙ star. We obtained ground-based, time series photometry for 13 white dwarfs from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 7 and Data Release 10 whose atmospheric parameters place them within the ZZ Ceti instability strip. We detect monoperiodic pulsations in three of our targets (J1015, J1554 and J2038) and identify three periods of pulsation in J0840 (173, 327 and 797 s). Fourier analysis of the remaining nine objects does not indicate variability above the 4 detection threshold. Our preliminary asteroseismic analysis of J0840 yields a stellar mass M = 1.14 ± 0.01 M⊙, hydrogen and helium envelope masses of MH = 5.8 × 10-7 M⊙ and MHe = 4.5 × 10-4 M⊙ and an expected core crystallized mass ratio of 50-70 per cent. J1015, J1554 and J2038 have masses in the range 0.84-0.91 M⊙ and are expected to have a CO core; however, the core of J0840 could consist of highly crystallized CO or ONeMg given its high mass. These newly discovered massive pulsators represent a significant increase in the number of known ZZ Ceti white dwarfs with mass M > 0.85 M⊙, and detailed asteroseismic modelling of J0840 will allow for significant tests of crystallization theory in CO and ONeMg core white dwarfs.

Unstable low-mass planetary systems as drivers of white dwarf pollution

Science.gov (United States)

Mustill, Alexander J.; Villaver, Eva; Veras, Dimitri; Gänsicke, Boris T.; Bonsor, Amy

2018-05-01

At least 25 {per cent} of white dwarfs show atmospheric pollution by metals, sometimes accompanied by detectable circumstellar dust/gas discs or (in the case of WD 1145+017) transiting disintegrating asteroids. Delivery of planetesimals to the white dwarf by orbiting planets is a leading candidate to explain these phenomena. Here, we study systems of planets and planetesimals undergoing planet-planet scattering triggered by the star's post-main-sequence mass loss, and test whether this can maintain high rates of delivery over the several Gyr that they are observed. We find that low-mass planets (Earth to Neptune mass) are efficient deliverers of material and can maintain the delivery for Gyr. Unstable low-mass planetary systems reproduce the observed delayed onset of significant accretion, as well as the slow decay in accretion rates at late times. Higher-mass planets are less efficient, and the delivery only lasts a relatively brief time before the planetesimal populations are cleared. The orbital inclinations of bodies as they cross the white dwarf's Roche limit are roughly isotropic, implying that significant collisional interactions of asteroids, debris streams and discs can be expected. If planet-planet scattering is indeed responsible for the pollution of white dwarfs, many such objects, and their main-sequence progenitors, can be expected to host (currently undetectable) super-Earth planets on orbits of several au and beyond.

The WFCAM transit survey and cool white dwarfs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pinfield D.

2013-04-01

Full Text Available We present results from our search for cool white dwarfs in the WTS (WFCAM Transit Survey. Repeat observations starting in 2007 allowed to produce deep stacked images in J and measure proper motions. We combine this with deep optical imaging to select cool white dwarf candidates (Teff < 5000 K. About 27 cool white dwarf candidates with proper motions above 0.10 arcsec/yr were identified in one of the fields representing 1/8th of the survey area. Follow-up spectroscopy with the 10.2 m GTC telescope at La Palma confirmed the white dwarf status for all observed candidates. On-going work is being carried out to increase the sample of cool white dwarfs that will allow a more comprehensive study of the thick disk/halo white dwarf population.

White dwarf heating and the ultraviolet flux in dwarf novae

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pringle, J.E.

1988-01-01

An investigation is made of the heating of the outer layers of the white dwarf which is likely to occur during a dwarf nova outburst. It is shown that the decline in IUE flux, observed during quiescent intervals in the dwarf novae VW Hydri and WX Hydri, may be due to the outer layers cooling off once the heat source is removed. The calculations here assume uniformity of the heat source over the white dwarf surface. This is unlikely to be realized from disc accretion, and we discuss that further calculations are required. (author)

Polarized radiation in magnetic white dwarfs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rosi, L.A.; Zimmerman, R.L.; Kemp, J.C.

1976-01-01

A model for magnetic white dwarfs is proposed which attributes the partially polarized light to synchrotron radiation. The source of the radiation is relativistic electrons trapped in the magnetosphere of a white dwarf. The white dwarf's magnetic field is assumed to be dipolar. The Stokes parameters for the synchrotron radiation are tabulated as a function of frequency, observer's orientation, and energy and spatial distribution of the relativistic electrons. The results of the synchrotron calculations are applied to the polarization observations of Grw+70degree8247 and DQ Herculis. This model can account for the major features of the polarized radiation coming from these two magnetic white dwarfs. The calculations predict for Grw+70degree8247 that the surface magnetic field is B/sub s/approximately-less-than4 x 10 6 gauss, that the incident viewing angle is 45degreeapproximately-less-thantheta 0 approximately-less-than75degree, and that the electrons are trapped with nearly an isotropic distribution about the white dwarf. For DQ Herculis the surface magnetic field is B/sub s/approximately-less-than7 x 10 6 gauss and the trapped electrons are confined to a dislike region about the white dwarf. For both cases the density of electrons in the magnetosphere falls in the range of 10 5 approximately-less-thannapproximately-less-than10 7 cm -3 with energies of about 4--35 MeV

DISCOVERY OF A POSSIBLE COOL WHITE DWARF COMPANION FROM THE AllWISE MOTION SURVEY

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fajardo-Acosta, Sergio B.; Kirkpatrick, J. Davy; Gelino, Christopher R. [IPAC, Mail Code 100-22, Caltech, 1200 E. California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Schneider, Adam C.; Cushing, Michael C. [University of Toledo, 2801 W. Bancroft Street, MS 113, Toledo, OH 43606 (United States); Stern, Daniel [Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, MS 169-221, Pasadena, CA 91109 (United States); Bardalez-Gagliuffi, Daniella C. [University of California at San Diego, 9450 Gillman Drive # 40282, La Jolla, CA 92092 (United States); Kellogg, Kendra [Western University, 226-376-3530, 454 Castlegrove Boulevard, London, ON N6G 1K8 (Canada); Wright, Edward L., E-mail: fajardo@ipac.caltech.edu, E-mail: davy@ipac.caltech.edu, E-mail: cgelino@ipac.caltech.edu, E-mail: aschneid10@gmail.com, E-mail: michael.cushing@utoledo.edu, E-mail: daniel.k.stern@jpl.nasa.gov, E-mail: daniella@physics.ucsd.edu, E-mail: kkellog@uwo.ca, E-mail: wright@astro.ucla.edu [University of California at Los Angeles, Department of Physics and Astronomy, P.O. Box 951547, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1547 (United States)

2016-11-20

We present optical and near-infrared spectroscopy of WISEA J061543.91-124726.8, which we rediscovered as a high motion object in the AllWISE survey. The spectra of this object are unusual; while the red optical ( λ > 7000 Å) and near-infrared spectra exhibit characteristic TiO, VO, and H{sub 2}O bands of a late-M dwarf, the blue portion of its optical spectrum shows a significant excess of emission relative to late-M-type templates. The excess emission is relatively featureless, with the exception of a prominent and very broad Na i D doublet. We find that no single, ordinary star can reproduce these spectral characteristics. The most likely explanation is an unresolved binary system of an M7 dwarf and a cool white dwarf. The flux of a cool white dwarf drops in the optical red and near-infrared, due to collision-induced absorption, thus allowing the flux of a late-M dwarf to show through. This scenario, however, does not explain the Na D feature, which is unlike that of any known white dwarf, but which could perhaps be explained via unusual abundance or pressure conditions.

The white dwarf binary pathways survey - II. Radial velocities of 1453 FGK stars with white dwarf companions from LAMOST DR 4

Science.gov (United States)

Rebassa-Mansergas, A.; Ren, J. J.; Irawati, P.; García-Berro, E.; Parsons, S. G.; Schreiber, M. R.; Gänsicke, B. T.; Rodríguez-Gil, P.; Liu, X.; Manser, C.; Nevado, S. P.; Jiménez-Ibarra, F.; Costero, R.; Echevarría, J.; Michel, R.; Zorotovic, M.; Hollands, M.; Han, Z.; Luo, A.; Villaver, E.; Kong, X.

2017-12-01

We present the second paper of a series of publications aiming at obtaining a better understanding regarding the nature of type Ia supernovae (SN Ia) progenitors by studying a large sample of detached F, G and K main-sequence stars in close orbits with white dwarf companions (i.e. WD+FGK binaries). We employ the Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fibre Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST) data release 4 spectroscopic data base together with Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) ultraviolet fluxes to identify 1549 WD+FGK binary candidates (1057 of which are new), thus doubling the number of known sources. We measure the radial velocities of 1453 of these binaries from the available LAMOST spectra and/or from spectra obtained by us at a wide variety of different telescopes around the globe. The analysis of the radial velocity data allows us to identify 24 systems displaying more than 3σ radial velocity variation that we classify as close binaries. We also discuss the fraction of close binaries among WD+FGK systems, which we find to be ∼10 per cent, and demonstrate that high-resolution spectroscopy is required to efficiently identify double-degenerate SN Ia progenitor candidates.

Effects of magnetic fields in white dwarfs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Franzon, Bruno; Schramm, Stefan

2017-01-01

We perform calculations of white dwarfs endowed with strong magnetic fields. White dwarfs are the progenitors of supernova Type Ia explosions and they are widely used as candles to show that the Universe is expanding and accelerating. However, observations of ultraluminous supernovae have suggested that the progenitor of such an explosion should be a white dwarf with mass above the well-known Chandrasekhar limit ∼ 1.4 M⊙. In corroboration with other works, but by using a fully general relativistic framework, we obtained also strongly magnetized white dwarfs with masses M ∼ 2.0 M⊙. (paper)

Results on (UNPublished Wet Runs on Pulsating DB White Dwarfs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Handler G.

2003-03-01

Full Text Available I have collected all the WET archival data on the pulsating DB white dwarf stars (DBVs and re-reduced them. In addition, the WET has recently observed three DBVs. Preliminary results on PG 1115+158, PG 1351+489, KUV 05134+2605, PG 1654+160 and PG 1456+103 are presented, and the future use of the data is outlined.

A hot white dwarf luminosity function from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey

Science.gov (United States)

Krzesinski, J.; Kleinman, S. J.; Nitta, A.; Hügelmeyer, S.; Dreizler, S.; Liebert, J.; Harris, H.

2009-12-01

Aims. We present a hot white dwarf (WD) luminosity function (LF) using data taken from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Data Release 4. We present and discuss a combined LF, along with separate DA and non-DA as LFs. We explore the completeness of our LFs and interpret a sudden drop in the non-DA LF near 2 M_bol as a transition of the non-DA WD atmosphere into the DA one during WD evolution. Our LF extends roughly between -0.5 T_eff > ˜25 000 K. Our LF should now be useful for estimates of recent star formation and for studies of neutrino and other potential particle emission losses in hot WDs. Methods: To create a sample whose completeness can be characterized fully, we used stars whose spectra were obtained via the SDSS's “hot standard” target selection criteria. The hot standard stars were purposefully targeted to a high level of completeness by the SDSS for calibration purposes. We are fortunate that many of them are hot white dwarfs stars. We further limited the sample to stars with fitted temperatures exceeding 23 500 K and log{g} > 7.0. We determined stellar distances for our sample based on their absolute SDSS g filter magnitudes, derived from WD stellar atmosphere model fits to the SDSS stellar spectra. Results: We compared our LF with those of other researchers where overlap occurs; however, our LFs are unique in their extension to the most luminous/hottest WDs. The cool end of our LF connects with the hot end of previously determined SDSS WD LFs and agreement here is quite good. It is also good with previous non-SDSS WD LFs. We note distinct differences between the DA and non-DA LFs and discuss the reliability of the DA LF at its hot end. We have extended the range of luminosities covered in the most recent WD LFs. The SDSS sample is understood quite well and its exploration should contribute to a number of new insights into early white dwarf evolution.

A young contracting white dwarf in the peculiar binary HD 49798/RX J0648.0-4418?

Science.gov (United States)

Popov, S. B.; Mereghetti, S.; Blinnikov, S. I.; Kuranov, A. G.; Yungelson, L. R.

2018-02-01

HD 49798/RX J0648.0-4418 is a peculiar X-ray binary with a hot subdwarf (sdO) mass donor. The nature of the accreting compact object is not known, but its spin period P = 13.2 s and \\dot{P} =-2.15 × 10^{-15} s s-1 proves that it can be only either a white dwarf or a neutron star. The spin-up has been very stable for more than 20 yr. We demonstrate that the continuous stable spin-up of the compact companion of HD 49798 can be best explained by contraction of a young white dwarf with an age ˜2 Myr. This allows us to interpret all the basic parameters of the system in the framework of an accreting white dwarf. We present examples of binary evolution, which result in such systems. If correct, this is the first direct evidence for a white dwarf contraction in early evolutionary stages.

Testing Gravity Using Dwarf Stars

OpenAIRE

Sakstein, Jeremy

2015-01-01

Generic scalar-tensor theories of gravity predict deviations from Newtonian physics inside astrophysical bodies. In this paper, we point out that low mass stellar objects, red and brown dwarf stars, are excellent probes of these theories. We calculate two important and potentially observable quantities: the radius of brown dwarfs and the minimum mass for hydrogen burning in red dwarfs. The brown dwarf radius can differ significantly from the GR prediction and upcoming surveys that probe the m...

TOWARD A NETWORK OF FAINT DA WHITE DWARFS AS HIGH-PRECISION SPECTROPHOTOMETRIC STANDARDS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Narayan, G.; Matheson, T.; Saha, A.; Claver, J. [National Optical Astronomy Observatory, 950 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85719 (United States); Axelrod, T.; Olszewski, E. [University of Arizona, Steward Observatory, 933 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721 (United States); Holberg, J. B. [University of Arizona, Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, 1629 East University Boulevard, Tucson, AZ 85721 (United States); Stubbs, C. W. [Department of Physics, Harvard University, 17 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Bohlin, R. C.; Deustua, S.; Rest, A., E-mail: gnarayan@noao.edu [Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States)

2016-05-10

We present the initial results from a program aimed at establishing a network of hot DA white dwarfs to serve as spectrophotometric standards for present and future wide-field surveys. These stars span the equatorial zone and are faint enough to be conveniently observed throughout the year with large-aperture telescopes. The spectra of these white dwarfs are analyzed in order to generate a non-local-thermodynamic-equilibrium model atmosphere normalized to Hubble Space Telescope colors, including adjustments for wavelength-dependent interstellar extinction. Once established, this standard star network will serve ground-based observatories in both hemispheres as well as space-based instrumentation from the UV to the near IR. We demonstrate the effectiveness of this concept and show how two different approaches to the problem using somewhat different assumptions produce equivalent results. We discuss the lessons learned and the resulting corrective actions applied to our program.

Nucleosynthesis in cold white dwarf explosions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Canal, R.; Hernanz, M.

1986-01-01

Type I supernovae (SNI) are generally thought to be the main contributors to the galactic nucleosynthesis of iron-peak elements and their yields of intermediate-mass elements may also be important. We concentrate here upon a different class of models, based on the explosion of cold, massive, partially solid white dwarfs. We show that such white dwarfs must be relatively frequent among SNI progenitors and how their hydrodynamics upon ignition is very different from that of hotter, fluid white dwarfs. The implications for nucleosynthesis are briefly discussed and some preliminary results are presented

A DARK SPOT ON A MASSIVE WHITE DWARF

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kilic, Mukremin; Gianninas, Alexandros; Curd, Brandon; Wisniewski, John P. [Homer L. Dodge Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Oklahoma, 440 W. Brooks St., Norman, OK 73019 (United States); Bell, Keaton J.; Winget, D. E.; Winget, K. I. [Department of Astronomy, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712 (United States); Brown, Warren R. [Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, 60 Garden St., Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Hermes, J. J. [Department of Physics, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL (United Kingdom); Dufour, Patrick [Institut de recherche sur les exoplanétes (iREx), Département de Physique, Université de Montréal, C.P. 6128, Succ. Centre-Ville, Montréal, QC H3C 3J7 (Canada)

2015-12-01

We present the serendipitous discovery of eclipse-like events around the massive white dwarf SDSS J152934.98+292801.9 (hereafter J1529+2928). We selected J1529+2928 for time-series photometry based on its spectroscopic temperature and surface gravity, which place it near the ZZ Ceti instability strip. Instead of pulsations, we detect photometric dips from this white dwarf every 38 minutes. Follow-up optical spectroscopy observations with Gemini reveal no significant radial velocity variations, ruling out stellar and brown dwarf companions. A disintegrating planet around this white dwarf cannot explain the observed light curves in different filters. Given the short period, the source of the photometric dips must be a dark spot that comes into view every 38 minutes due to the rotation of the white dwarf. Our optical spectroscopy does not show any evidence of Zeeman splitting of the Balmer lines, limiting the magnetic field strength to B < 70 kG. Since up to 15% of white dwarfs display kG magnetic fields, such eclipse-like events should be common around white dwarfs. We discuss the potential implications of this discovery on transient surveys targeting white dwarfs, like the K2 mission and the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope.

Testing the stationarity of white dwarf light-curves

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Molnar, L; Kollath, Z; Plachy, E; Paparo, M

2009-01-01

Long period white dwarfs show changes in their frequency spectra from one observing season to another, i.e. their light-curves cannot be considered as stationary multiperiodic variations on long timescales. However, due to the complex frequency spectra of these stars and the narrow frequency spacing, it is still unknown, what the shortest time scale is, where real physical modulation exists. We present tests on artificial data, resembling the observations, using time-frequency distributions (TFDs), Fourier-analysis and the analytical signal method.

Carbon-enhanced metal-poor stars in dwarf galaxies

OpenAIRE

Salvadori, Stefania; Skuladottir, Asa; Tolstoy, Eline

2015-01-01

We investigate the frequency and origin of carbon-enhanced metal-poor (CEMP) stars in Local Group dwarf galaxies by means of a statistical, data-calibrated cosmological model for the hierarchical build-up of the Milky Way and its dwarf satellites. The model self-consistently explains the variation with dwarf galaxy luminosity of the observed: i) frequency and [Fe/H] range of CEMP stars; ii) metallicity distribution functions; iii) star formation histories. We show that if primordial faint sup...

Quantum liquid signatures in dwarf stars

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gabadadze, Gregory; Pirtskhalava, David, E-mail: gg32@nyu.edu, E-mail: dmp371@nyu.edu [Center for Cosmology and Particle Physics, Department of Physics, New York University, New York, NY 10003 (United States)

2009-05-15

We develop further the proposal of arXiv:0806.3692 that a new state of matter - charged condensate of spin-0 nuclei - may exist in helium-core dwarf stars. The charged condensate and its fluctuations are described by an effective field theory Lagrangian. The spectrum of bosonic fluctuations is gapped, while electrons, at temperatures of interest, give rise to gapless excitations near the Fermi surface. These properties determine the evolution of the dwarfs with condensed cores. In particular, we show that such dwarf stars would cool significantly faster than their crystallized counterparts. As a result, the luminosity function for the helium-core dwarfs will have a sharp drop-off after the condensation. It is tempting to interpret the recently discovered abrupt termination of a sequence of 24 helium-core dwarf candidates in NGC 6397 as a signature of the charged condensation.

A multiwavelength study of superoutbursts in dwarf novae

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Woerd, H.J. van der.

1987-01-01

Dwarf novae are stellar systems consisting of two stars which orbit around each other within a few hours. In dwarf novae one of the stars, which is a bit smaller and less massive than our sun, loses matter to a very compact and degenerated star: a white dwarf. This white dwarf has nearly the same mass as our sun but its radius is about a hundred times smaller. The process of mass transport was studied on the basis of observations with the Exosat-satelite (European X-ray Observatory satelite). 397 refs.; 50 figs.; 21 tabs

Theoretical models of highly magnetic white dwarf stars that violate the Chandrasekhar Limit

Science.gov (United States)

Shah, Hridaya

2017-08-01

Until recently, white dwarf (WD) stars were believed to be no more massive than 1.44 solar masses (M ⊙ ). This belief has been changed now with the observations of over-luminous or 'peculiar' Type la supernovae that have lead researchers to hypothesize the existence of WDs in the mass range 2.4 - 2.8 M ⊙ . This discovery also raises some doubt over the reliability of the Type Ia supernova as a standard candle. It is thought that these super-massive WDs are their most likely progenitors and that they probably have a very strong magnetic field inside them. A degenerate electron gas in a magnetic field, such as that present inside this star, will be Landau quantized. Magnetic field changes the momentum space of electrons which in turn changes their density of states (DOS) and that in turn changes the equation of state (EoS) of matter inside the star, as opposed to that without a field. When this change in the DOS is taken into account and a link between the DOS and the EoS is established, as is done in this work, I find a physical reason behind the theoretical mass-radius (M-R) relations of a super-massive WD. I start with different equations of state with at most three Landau levels occupied and then construct stellar models of magnetic WDs (MWDs) using the same. I also show the M-R relations of these stars for a particular chosen value of maximum electron Fermi energy. Once a multiple Landau level system of electrons is considered, I find that it leads to such an EoS that gives multiple branches in the MR relations. Super-massive MWDs are obtained only when the Landau level occupancy is limited to just one level and some of the mass values fall within the mass range given above.

PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF THE CURRENT CENSUS OF NORTHERN WHITE DWARFS WITHIN 40 pc OF THE SUN

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Limoges, M.-M.; Bergeron, P.; Lépine, S.

2015-01-01

We present a detailed description of the physical properties of our current census of white dwarfs within 40 pc of the Sun, based on an exhaustive spectroscopic survey of northern hemisphere candidates from the SUPERBLINK proper motion database. Our method for selecting white dwarf candidates is based on a combination of theoretical color–magnitude relations and reduced proper motion diagrams. We reported in an earlier publication the discovery of nearly 200 new white dwarfs, and we present here the discovery of an additional 133 new white dwarfs, among which we identify 96 DA, 3 DB, 24 DC, 3 DQ, and 7 DZ stars. We further identify 178 white dwarfs that lie within 40 pc of the Sun, representing a 40% increase of the current census, which now includes 492 objects. We estimate the completeness of our survey at between 66% and 78%, allowing for uncertainties in the distance estimates. We also perform a homogeneous model atmosphere analysis of this 40 pc sample and find a large fraction of massive white dwarfs, indicating that we are successfully recovering the more massive, and less luminous objects often missed in other surveys. We also show that the 40 pc sample is dominated by cool and old white dwarfs, which populate the faint end of the luminosity function, although trigonometric parallaxes will be needed to shape this part of the luminosity function more accurately. Finally, we identify 4 probable members of the 20 pc sample, 4 suspected double degenerate binaries, and we also report the discovery of two new ZZ Ceti pulsators

LP 400-22, a Very Low Mass and High-Velocity White Dwarf

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Kawka, Adela; Vennes, S.; Oswalt, T.D.; Smith, J.A.; Silvestri, N.M.

2006-01-01

Roč. 643, č. 2 (2006), L123-L126 ISSN 0004-637X R&D Projects: GA ČR GP205/05/P186 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10030501 Keywords : white dwarf s * individual stars Subject RIV: BN - Astronomy, Celestial Mechanics, Astrophysics Impact factor: 6.119, year: 2006

Stars at Low Metallicity in Dwarf Galaxies

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tolstoy, Eline; Battaglia, Giuseppina; Cole, Andrew; Hunt, LK; Madden, S; Schneider, R

2008-01-01

Dwarf galaxies offer an opportunity to understand the properties of low metallicity star formation both today and at the earliest times at the, epoch of the formation of the first stars. Here we concentrate on two galaxies in the Local Group: the dwarf irregular galaxy Leo A, which has been the

Radiation of dwarf novae

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bruch, A.

1987-01-01

The nature of dwarf novae with their components white dwarf star, cool star, accretion disk, boundary layer and hot spot is investigated. It is shown that very different physical states and processes occur in the components of dwarf novae. Spectroscopical and photometrical observations are carried out. For better understanding the radiation portions of the single dwarf novae components are separated from the total electromagnetic spectrum recieved from the dwarf novae. The model assumptions are compared with the observations and verified

Conditions for accretion-induced collapse of white dwarfs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nomoto, Kenichi; Kondo, Yoji

1991-01-01

Recent discovery of an unexpectedly large number of low-mass binary pulsars (LMBPs) in globular clusters has instigated active discussions on the evolutionary origin of binary pulsars. Prompted by the possibility that at least some of LMBPs originate from accretion-induced collapse (AIC) of white dwarfs, a reexamination is conducted as to whether or not AIC occurs for the new models of O + Ne + Mg white dwarfs and solid C + O white dwarfs that can ignite explosive nuclear burning at significantly lower central densities than in the previous models. Even with low critical densities, AIC is still much more likely than explosion for both types of white dwarfs. Possible regions for AIC are presented in a diagram of mass accretion rate vs initial mass of the white dwarfs. 42 refs

A STRANGE STAR SCENARIO FOR THE FORMATION OF ECCENTRIC MILLISECOND PULSAR/HELIUM WHITE DWARF BINARIES

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jiang, Long; Li, Xiang-Dong [Department of Astronomy, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210046 (China); Dey, Jishnu; Dey, Mira, E-mail: lixd@nju.edu.cn [Department of Physics, Presidency University, 86/1, College Street, Kolkata 700 073 (India)

2015-07-01

According to the recycling scenario, millisecond pulsars (MSPs) have evolved from low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs). Their orbits are expected to be circular due to tidal interactions during binary evolution, as observed in most binary MSPs. There are some peculiar systems that do not fit this picture. Three recent examples are the PSRs J2234+06, J1946+3417, and J1950+2414, all of which are MSPs in eccentric orbits but with mass functions compatible with expected He white dwarf (WD) companions. It has been suggested these MSPs may have formed from delayed accretion-induced collapse of massive WDs, or the eccentricity may be induced by dynamical interaction between the binary and a circumbinary disk. Assuming that the core density of accreting neutron stars (NSs) in LMXBs may reach the density of quark deconfinement, which can lead to phase transition from NSs to strange quark stars, we show that the resultant MSPs are likely to have an eccentric orbit, due to the sudden loss of the gravitational mass of the NS during the transition. The eccentricities can be reproduced with a reasonable estimate of the mass loss. This scenario might also account for the formation of the youngest known X-ray binary Cir X–1, which also possesses a low-field compact star in an eccentric orbit.

Is EG 50 a White or Strange Dwarf?

Science.gov (United States)

Hajyan, G. S.; Vartanyan, Yu. L.

2017-12-01

The time dependences of the luminosity of a white dwarf and four strange dwarfs with masses of 0.5 M (the mass of the white dwarf EG 50 with a surface temperature of 2.1·104 K) are determined taking neutrino energy losses into account. It was assumed that these configurations radiate only at the expense of thermal energy reserves. It is shown that the sources of thermal energy owing to nonequilibrium b-processes and the phenomenon of crystallization of electron-nuclear matter are insignificant in determining the cooling time of white and strange dwarfs with masses of 0.5 M⨀. It is shown that in this approximation the time dependences of the luminosity of white and strange dwarfs with masses of 0.5 M⨀ differ significantly only for surface temperatures TR≥7·104 K, so it is impossible to determine whether EG 50 is a white or strange dwarf based on the cooling time.

THE WHITE DWARF AGE OF NGC 2477

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jeffery, Elizabeth J.; Von Hippel, Ted; DeGennaro, Steven; Jefferys, William H.; Van Dyk, David A.; Stein, Nathan

2011-01-01

We present deep photometric observations of the open cluster NGC 2477 using HST/WFPC2. By identifying seven cluster white dwarf candidates, we present an analysis of the white dwarf age of this cluster, using both the traditional method of fitting isochrones to the white dwarf cooling sequence, and by employing a new Bayesian statistical technique that has been developed by our group. This new method performs an objective, simultaneous model fit of the cluster and stellar parameters (namely, age, metallicity, distance, reddening, as well as individual stellar masses, mass ratios, and cluster membership) to the photometry. Based on this analysis, we measure a white dwarf age of 1.035 ± 0.054 ± 0.087 Gyr (uncertainties represent the goodness of model fits and discrepancy among models, respectively) in good agreement with the cluster's main-sequence turnoff age. This work is part of our ongoing work to calibrate main-sequence turnoff and white dwarf ages using open clusters, and to improve the precision of cluster ages to the ∼5% level.

KOI 1224: A FOURTH BLOATED HOT WHITE DWARF COMPANION FOUND WITH KEPLER

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Breton, R. P.; Van Kerkwijk, M. H.; Rappaport, S. A.; Carter, J. A.

2012-01-01

We present an analysis and interpretation of the Kepler binary system KOI 1224. This is the fourth binary found with Kepler that consists of a thermally bloated, hot white dwarf in a close orbit with a more or less normal star of spectral class A or F. As we show, KOI 1224 contains a white dwarf with T eff = 14, 700 ± 1000 K, mass = 0.22 ± 0.02 M ☉ , and radius = 0.103 ± 0.002 R ☉ , and an F-star companion of mass 1.59 ± 0.06 M ☉ that is somewhat beyond its terminal-age main sequence. The orbital period is quite short at 2.69802 days. The ingredients that are used in the analysis are the Kepler binary light curve, including the detection of the Doppler boosting effect; the NUV and FUV fluxes from the GALEX images of this object; an estimate of the spectral type of the F-star companion; and evolutionary models of the companion designed to match its effective temperature and mean density. The light curve is modeled with a new code named Icarus which we describe in detail. Its features include the full treatment of orbital phase-resolved spectroscopy, Doppler boosting, irradiation effects, and transits/eclipses, which are particularly suited to irradiated eclipsing binaries. We interpret the KOI 1224 system in terms of its likely evolutionary history. We infer that this type of system, containing a bloated hot white dwarf, is the direct descendant of an Algol-type binary. In spite of this basic understanding of the origin of KOI 1224, we discuss a number of problems associated with producing a system with an orbital period this short.

A Neutron Star-White Dwarf Binary Model for Repeating Fast Radio Burst 121102

Science.gov (United States)

Gu, Wei-Min; Dong, Yi-Ze; Liu, Tong; Ma, Renyi; Wang, Junfeng

2016-06-01

We propose a compact binary model for the fast radio burst (FRB) repeaters, where the system consists of a magnetic white dwarf (WD) and a neutron star (NS) with strong bipolar magnetic fields. When the WD fills its Roche lobe, mass transfer will occur from the WD to the NS through the inner Lagrange point. The accreted magnetized materials may trigger magnetic reconnection when they approach the NS surface, and therefore the electrons can be accelerated to an ultra-relativistic speed. In this scenario, the curvature radiation of the electrons moving along the NS magnetic field lines can account for the characteristic frequency and the timescale of an FRB. Owing to the conservation of angular momentum, the WD may be kicked away after a burst, and the next burst may appear when the system becomes semi-detached again through the gravitational radiation. By comparing our analyses with the observations, we show that such an intermittent Roche-lobe overflow mechanism can be responsible for the observed repeating behavior of FRB 121102.

White dwarfs in cataclysmic variables

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sion, E.M.

1987-01-01

The physical properties and evolutionary state of the underlying white dwarfs in CVs are explored. Observations of 25 white dwarfs with effective temperature upper limits of 9000-75,000 K are discussed. Correlations between effective temperature, orbital period, accretion rate, and CV type with respect to the CV period gap are considered. Quasi-static and hydrodynamic evolutionary models are used to explain the surface temperature/luminosity distribution ratios. 42 references

Ages of M Dwarf Stars from their Alpha Enhancement

Science.gov (United States)

Muirhead, Philip Steven; Veyette, Mark

2018-01-01

M dwarf stars dominate stellar populations, and recent results from NASA's Kepler Mission suggest rocky planets are abundant around M dwarf stars. With so many planets orbiting M dwarfs, exoplanet scientists can now turn to questions about their history and evolution. Unfortunately, measuring fundamental properties of M dwarfs is challenging for a variety of reasons. I will discuss the importance of near-infrared spectroscopy in this effort. With high-resolution near-infrared spectroscopy covering Y to K band, we can measure detailed fundamental properties of low-mass stars. With new techniques to measure stellar alpha and iron abundances, we can begin to measure the most challenging fundamental property of M dwarfs: their age. These efforts are even more exciting in the coming years, when the TESS spacecraft is expected to discover five times as many planets orbiting low-mass stars as Kepler.

Magnetism, X-rays and accretion rates in WD 1145+017 and other polluted white dwarf systems

Science.gov (United States)

Farihi, J.; Fossati, L.; Wheatley, P. J.; Metzger, B. D.; Mauerhan, J.; Bachman, S.; Gänsicke, B. T.; Redfield, S.; Cauley, P. W.; Kochukhov, O.; Achilleos, N.; Stone, N.

2018-02-01

This paper reports circular spectropolarimetry and X-ray observations of several polluted white dwarfs including WD 1145+017, with the aim to constrain the behaviour of disc material and instantaneous accretion rates in these evolved planetary systems. Two stars with previously observed Zeeman splitting, WD 0322-019 and WD 2105-820, are detected above 5σ and 〈Bz〉 > 1 kG, while WD 1145+017, WD 1929+011, and WD 2326+049 yield (null) detections below this minimum level of confidence. For these latter three stars, high-resolution spectra and atmospheric modelling are used to obtain limits on magnetic field strengths via the absence of Zeeman splitting, finding B* Earth composition material falling on to the magnetic polar regions of white dwarfs, where X-rays and cyclotron radiation may contribute to accretion luminosity. This analysis is applied to X-ray data for WD 1145+017, WD 1729+371, and WD 2326+049, and the upper bound count rates are modelled with spectra for a range of plasma kT = 1-10 keV in both the magnetic and non-magnetic accretion regimes. The results for all three stars are consistent with a typical dusty white dwarf in a steady state at 108-109 g s-1. In particular, the non-magnetic limits for WD 1145+017 are found to be well below previous estimates of up to 1012 g s-1, and likely below 1010 g s-1, thus suggesting the star-disc system may be average in its evolutionary state, and only special in viewing geometry.

DETECTION OF WHITE DWARF COMPANIONS TO BLUE STRAGGLERS IN THE OPEN CLUSTER NGC 188: DIRECT EVIDENCE FOR RECENT MASS TRANSFER

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gosnell, Natalie M.; Mathieu, Robert D. [Department of Astronomy, University of Wisconsin - Madison, 475 N. Charter St., Madison, WI 53706 (United States); Geller, Aaron M. [Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA) and Department of Physics and Astronomy, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Rd, Evanston, IL 60208 (United States); Sills, Alison [Department of Physics and Astronomy, McMaster University, 1280 Main St. W, Hamilton, ON L8S 4M1 (Canada); Leigh, Nathan [Department of Physics, University of Alberta, CCIS 4-183, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E1 (Canada); Knigge, Christian, E-mail: gosnell@astro.wisc.edu [School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Southampton, Highfield, Southampton, SO17 IBJ (United Kingdom)

2014-03-01

Several possible formation pathways for blue straggler stars have been developed recently, but no one pathway has yet been observationally confirmed for a specific blue straggler. Here we report the first findings from a Hubble Space Telescope Advanced Camera for Surveys/Solar Blind Channel far-UV photometric program to search for white dwarf companions to blue straggler stars. We find three hot and young white dwarf companions to blue straggler stars in the 7 Gyr open cluster NGC 188, indicating that mass transfer in these systems ended less than 300 Myr ago. These companions are direct and secure observational evidence that these blue straggler stars were formed through mass transfer in binary stars. Their existence in a well-studied cluster environment allows for observational constraints of both the current binary system and the progenitor binary system, mapping the entire mass transfer history.

The Binary Dwarf Carbon Star SDSS J125017.90+252427.6

Science.gov (United States)

Margon, Bruce; Kupfer, Thomas; Burdge, Kevin; Prince, Thomas A.; Kulkarni, Shrinivas R.; Shupe, David L.

2018-03-01

Although dwarf carbon (dC) stars are universally thought to be binaries in order to explain the presence of C 2 in their spectra while still near main-sequence luminosity, direct observational evidence for their binarity is remarkably scarce. Here, we report the detection of a 2.92 day periodicity in both the photometry and radial velocity of SDSS J125017.90+252427.6, an r = 16.4 dC star. This is the first photometric binary dC, and only the second dC spectroscopic binary. The relative phase of the photometric period to the spectroscopic observations suggests that the photometric variations are a reflection effect due to heating from an unseen companion. The observed radial velocity amplitude of the dC component (K = 98.8 ± 10.7 km s‑1) is consistent with a white dwarf companion, presumably the evolved star that earlier donated the carbon to the dC, although substantial orbital evolution must have occurred. Large synoptic photometric surveys such as the Palomar Transient Factory, which was used for this work, may prove useful for identifying binaries among the shorter-period dC stars.

Surface Inhomogeneities of the White Dwarf in the Binary EUVE J2013+400

Science.gov (United States)

Vennes, Stephane

We propose to study the white dwarf in the binary EUVE J2013+400. The object is paired with a dMe star and new extreme ultraviolet (EUV) observations will offer critical insights into the properties of the white dwarf. The binary behaves, in every other aspects, like its siblings EUVE J0720-317 and EUVE J1016-053 and new EUV observations will help establish their class properties; in particular, EUV photometric variations in 0720-317 and 1016-053 over a period of 11 hours and 57 minutes, respectively, are indicative of surface abundance inhomogeneities coupled with the white dwarfs rotation period. These variations and their large photospheric helium abundance are best explained by a diffusion-accretion model in which time-variable accretion and possible coupling to magnetic poles contribute to abundance variations across the surface and possibly as a function of depth. EUV spectroscopy will also enable a study of the helium abundance as a function of depth and a detailed comparison with theoretical diffusion profile.

White Dwarfs in the UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey Data Release 9

Science.gov (United States)

Tremblay, P.-E.; Leggett, S. K.; Lodieu, N.; Freytag, B.; Bergeron, P.; Kalirai, J. S.; Ludwig, H.-G.

2014-06-01

We have identified 8 to 10 new cool white dwarfs from the Large Area Survey (LAS) Data Release 9 of the United Kingdom InfraRed Telescope (UKIRT) Infrared Deep Sky Survey (UKIDSS). The data set was paired with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey to obtain proper motions and a broad ugrizYJHK wavelength coverage. Optical spectroscopic observations were secured at Gemini Observatory and confirm the degenerate status for eight of our targets. The final sample includes two additional white dwarf candidates with no spectroscopic observations. We rely on improved one-dimensional model atmospheres and new multi-dimensional simulations with CO5BOLD to review the stellar parameters of the published LAS white dwarf sample along with our additional discoveries. Most of the new objects possess very cool atmospheres with effective temperatures below 5000 K, including two pure-hydrogen remnants with a cooling age between 8.5 and 9.0 Gyr, and tangential velocities in the range 40 km s-1 3.0 and 5.0 Gyr. These white dwarfs could be disk remnants with a very high velocity or former halo G stars. We also compare the LAS sample with earlier studies of very cool degenerates and observe a similar deficit of helium-dominated atmospheres in the range 5000 < T eff (K) < 6000. We review the possible explanations for the spectral evolution from helium-dominated toward hydrogen-rich atmospheres at low temperatures.

New light on dark stars red dwarfs, low-mass stars, brown dwarfs

CERN Document Server

Reid, I Neill

2000-01-01

Perhaps the most common question that a child asks when he or she sees the night sky from a dark site for the first time is: 'How many stars are there?' This happens to be a question which has exercised the intellectual skills of many astronomers over the course of most of the last century, including, for the last two decades, one of the authors of this text. Until recently, the most accurate answer was 'We are not certain, but there is a good chance that almost all of them are M dwarfs. ' Within the last three years, results from new sky-surveys - particularly the first deep surveys at near­ infrared wavelengths - have provided a breakthrough in this subject, solidifying our census of the lowest-mass stars and identifying large numbers of the hitherto almost mythical substellar-mass brown dwarfs. These extremely low-luminosity objects are the central subjects of this book, and the subtitle should be interpreted accordingly. The expression 'low-mass stars' carries a wide range of meanings in the astronomical...

THE CLOSE BINARY FRACTION OF DWARF M STARS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clark, Benjamin M.; Blake, Cullen H.; Knapp, Gillian R.

2012-01-01

We describe a search for close spectroscopic dwarf M star binaries using data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey to address the question of the rate of occurrence of multiplicity in M dwarfs. We use a template-fitting technique to measure radial velocities from 145,888 individual spectra obtained for a magnitude-limited sample of 39,543 M dwarfs. Typically, the three or four spectra observed for each star are separated in time by less than four hours, but for ∼17% of the stars, the individual observations span more than two days. In these cases we are sensitive to large-amplitude radial velocity variations on timescales comparable to the separation between the observations. We use a control sample of objects having observations taken within a four-hour period to make an empirical estimate of the underlying radial velocity error distribution and simulate our detection efficiency for a wide range of binary star systems. We find the frequency of binaries among the dwarf M stars with a < 0.4 AU to be 3%-4%. Comparison with other samples of binary stars demonstrates that the close binary fraction, like the total binary fraction, is an increasing function of primary mass.

THE CLOSE BINARY FRACTION OF DWARF M STARS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Clark, Benjamin M. [Penn Manor High School, 100 East Cottage Avenue, Millersville, PA 17551 (United States); Blake, Cullen H.; Knapp, Gillian R. [Princeton University, Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Peyton Hall, Ivy Lane, Princeton, NJ 08544 (United States)

2012-01-10

We describe a search for close spectroscopic dwarf M star binaries using data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey to address the question of the rate of occurrence of multiplicity in M dwarfs. We use a template-fitting technique to measure radial velocities from 145,888 individual spectra obtained for a magnitude-limited sample of 39,543 M dwarfs. Typically, the three or four spectra observed for each star are separated in time by less than four hours, but for {approx}17% of the stars, the individual observations span more than two days. In these cases we are sensitive to large-amplitude radial velocity variations on timescales comparable to the separation between the observations. We use a control sample of objects having observations taken within a four-hour period to make an empirical estimate of the underlying radial velocity error distribution and simulate our detection efficiency for a wide range of binary star systems. We find the frequency of binaries among the dwarf M stars with a < 0.4 AU to be 3%-4%. Comparison with other samples of binary stars demonstrates that the close binary fraction, like the total binary fraction, is an increasing function of primary mass.

Ages of white dwarf-red subdwarf systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hektor Monteiro

2006-01-01

Full Text Available We provide the first age estimates for two recently discovered white dwarf-red subdwarf systems, LHS 193AB and LHS 300AB. These systems provide a new opportunity for linking the reliable age estimates for the white dwarfs to the (measurable metallicities of the red subdwarfs. We have obtained precise photometry in the VJRKCIKCJH bands and spectroscopy covering from 6,000°A to 9,000°A (our spectral coveragefor the two new systems, as well as for a comparison white dwarfmain sequence red dwarf system, GJ 283 AB. Using model grids, we estimate the cooling age as well as temperature, surface gravity, mass, progenitor mass and total lifetimes of the white dwarfs. The results indicate that the two new systems are probably ancient thick disk objects with ages of at least 6-9 gigayears (Gyr.

Asteroid 'Bites the Dust' Around Dead Star

Science.gov (United States)

2009-01-01

NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope set its infrared eyes upon the dusty remains of shredded asteroids around several dead stars. This artist's concept illustrates one such dead star, or 'white dwarf,' surrounded by the bits and pieces of a disintegrating asteroid. These observations help astronomers better understand what rocky planets are made of around other stars. Asteroids are leftover scraps of planetary material. They form early on in a star's history when planets are forming out of collisions between rocky bodies. When a star like our sun dies, shrinking down to a skeleton of its former self called a white dwarf, its asteroids get jostled about. If one of these asteroids gets too close to the white dwarf, the white dwarf's gravity will chew the asteroid up, leaving a cloud of dust. Spitzer's infrared detectors can see these dusty clouds and their various constituents. So far, the telescope has identified silicate minerals in the clouds polluting eight white dwarfs. Because silicates are common in our Earth's crust, the results suggest that planets similar to ours might be common around other stars.

Chemical Abundances of Metal-poor stars in Dwarf Galaxies

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Venn, Kim A.; Jablonka, Pascale; Hill, Vanessa; Starkenburg, Else; Lemasle, Bertrand; Shetrone, Matthew; Irwin, Mike; Norris, John; Yong, David; Gilmore, Gerry; Salvadori, Stephania; Skuladottir, Asa; Tolstoy, Eline; Bragaglia, A.; Arnaboldi, M.; Rejkuba, M.; Romano, D.

2016-01-01

Stars in low-mass dwarf galaxies show a larger range in their chemical properties than those in the Milky Way halo. The slower star formation efficiency make dwarf galaxies ideal systems for testing nucleosynthetic yields. Not only are alpha-poor stars found at lower metallicities, and a higher

A systematic search for brown dwarfs orbiting nearby stars

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Henry, T.J.; Mccarthy, D.W. Jr.

1990-01-01

Survey data for brown dwarf and stellar companions relative to known M dwarf stars within 5 pc north of -30 deg are analyzed. A region 0.2 to 5 arcsec in radius around 27 stars at the IR H and K bands are examined using IR speckle interferometry. The frequency of binary versus single M dwarfs in the solar neighborhood is examined. The IR mass-magnitude relations and mass-luminosity-age relation are studied. The data reveal that there are 19 single M dwarfs, 8 M dwarf binaries, 1 M dwarf triple system, and 1 M dwarf in a triple system for M dwarfs within 5 pc north of -30 deg. Also of the 27 M dwarfs studied none was found to have a brown dwarf companion. 64 refs

Habitability of planets around red dwarf stars.

Science.gov (United States)

Heath, M J; Doyle, L R; Joshi, M M; Haberle, R M

1999-08-01

Recent models indicate that relatively moderate climates could exist on Earth-sized planets in synchronous rotation around red dwarf stars. Investigation of the global water cycle, availability of photosynthetically active radiation in red dwarf sunlight, and the biological implications of stellar flares, which can be frequent for red dwarfs, suggests that higher plant habitability of red dwarf planets may be possible.

AN IMPROVED SPECTROSCOPIC ANALYSIS OF DA WHITE DWARFS FROM THE SLOAN DIGITAL SKY SURVEY DATA RELEASE 4

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tremblay, P.-E.; Bergeron, P.; Gianninas, A.

2011-01-01

We present an improved spectroscopic and photometric analysis of hydrogen-line DA white dwarfs from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 4 (SDSS DR4) based on model atmospheres that include improved Stark broadening profiles with non-ideal gas effects. We also perform a careful visual inspection of all spectroscopic fits with high signal-to-noise ratios (S/Ns > 12) and present improved atmospheric parameters (T eff and log g) for each white dwarf. Through a comparison of spectroscopic and photometric temperatures, we report the discovery of 35 DA+DB/DC double degenerate candidates and two helium-rich DA stars. We also determine that a cutoff at S/N = 15 optimizes the size and quality of the sample for computing the mean mass of DA white dwarfs, for which we report a value of 0.613 M sun . We compare our results to previous analyses of the SDSS DR4 and find a good agreement if we account for the shift produced by the improved Stark profiles. Finally, the properties of DA white dwarfs in the SDSS are weighed against those of the Villanova White Dwarf Catalog sample of Gianninas et al. We find systematically lower masses (by about 3% on average), a difference that we trace back to the data reduction procedure of the SDSS. We conclude that a better understanding of these differences will be important to determine the absolute temperature scale and mean mass of DA white dwarfs.

Distances of Dwarf Carbon Stars

Science.gov (United States)

Harris, Hugh C.; Dahn, Conard C.; Subasavage, John P.; Munn, Jeffrey A.; Canzian, Blaise J.; Levine, Stephen E.; Monet, Alice B.; Pier, Jeffrey R.; Stone, Ronald C.; Tilleman, Trudy M.; Hartkopf, William I.

2018-06-01

Parallaxes are presented for a sample of 20 nearby dwarf carbon stars. The inferred luminosities cover almost two orders of magnitude. Their absolute magnitudes and tangential velocities confirm prior expectations that some originate in the Galactic disk, although more than half of this sample are halo stars. Three stars are found to be astrometric binaries, and orbital elements are determined; their semimajor axes are 1–3 au, consistent with the size of an AGB mass-transfer donor star.

GAS, STARS, AND STAR FORMATION IN ALFALFA DWARF GALAXIES

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Huang Shan; Haynes, Martha P.; Giovanelli, Riccardo [Center for Radiophysics and Space Research, Space Sciences Building, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853 (United States); Brinchmann, Jarle [Sterrewacht Leiden, Leiden University, NL-2300 RA Leiden (Netherlands); Stierwalt, Sabrina [Spitzer Science Center, California Institute of Technology, 1200 E. California Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Neff, Susan G., E-mail: shan@astro.cornell.edu, E-mail: haynes@astro.cornell.edu, E-mail: riccardo@astro.cornell.edu, E-mail: jarle@strw.leidenuniv.nl, E-mail: sabrina@ipac.caltech.edu, E-mail: susan.g.neff@nasa.gov [NASA GSFC, Code 665, Observational Cosmology Lab, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States)

2012-06-15

We examine the global properties of the stellar and H I components of 229 low H I mass dwarf galaxies extracted from the ALFALFA survey, including a complete sample of 176 galaxies with H I masses <10{sup 7.7} M{sub Sun} and H I line widths <80 km s{sup -1}. Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) data are combined with photometric properties derived from Galaxy Evolution Explorer to derive stellar masses (M{sub *}) and star formation rates (SFRs) by fitting their UV-optical spectral energy distributions (SEDs). In optical images, many of the ALFALFA dwarfs are faint and of low surface brightness; only 56% of those within the SDSS footprint have a counterpart in the SDSS spectroscopic survey. A large fraction of the dwarfs have high specific star formation rates (SSFRs), and estimates of their SFRs and M{sub *} obtained by SED fitting are systematically smaller than ones derived via standard formulae assuming a constant SFR. The increased dispersion of the SSFR distribution at M{sub *} {approx}< 10{sup 8} M{sub Sun} is driven by a set of dwarf galaxies that have low gas fractions and SSFRs; some of these are dE/dSphs in the Virgo Cluster. The imposition of an upper H I mass limit yields the selection of a sample with lower gas fractions for their M{sub *} than found for the overall ALFALFA population. Many of the ALFALFA dwarfs, particularly the Virgo members, have H I depletion timescales shorter than a Hubble time. An examination of the dwarf galaxies within the full ALFALFA population in the context of global star formation (SF) laws is consistent with the general assumptions that gas-rich galaxies have lower SF efficiencies than do optically selected populations and that H I disks are more extended than stellar ones.

GAS, STARS, AND STAR FORMATION IN ALFALFA DWARF GALAXIES

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang Shan; Haynes, Martha P.; Giovanelli, Riccardo; Brinchmann, Jarle; Stierwalt, Sabrina; Neff, Susan G.

2012-01-01

We examine the global properties of the stellar and H I components of 229 low H I mass dwarf galaxies extracted from the ALFALFA survey, including a complete sample of 176 galaxies with H I masses 7.7 M ☉ and H I line widths –1 . Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) data are combined with photometric properties derived from Galaxy Evolution Explorer to derive stellar masses (M * ) and star formation rates (SFRs) by fitting their UV-optical spectral energy distributions (SEDs). In optical images, many of the ALFALFA dwarfs are faint and of low surface brightness; only 56% of those within the SDSS footprint have a counterpart in the SDSS spectroscopic survey. A large fraction of the dwarfs have high specific star formation rates (SSFRs), and estimates of their SFRs and M * obtained by SED fitting are systematically smaller than ones derived via standard formulae assuming a constant SFR. The increased dispersion of the SSFR distribution at M * ∼ 8 M ☉ is driven by a set of dwarf galaxies that have low gas fractions and SSFRs; some of these are dE/dSphs in the Virgo Cluster. The imposition of an upper H I mass limit yields the selection of a sample with lower gas fractions for their M * than found for the overall ALFALFA population. Many of the ALFALFA dwarfs, particularly the Virgo members, have H I depletion timescales shorter than a Hubble time. An examination of the dwarf galaxies within the full ALFALFA population in the context of global star formation (SF) laws is consistent with the general assumptions that gas-rich galaxies have lower SF efficiencies than do optically selected populations and that H I disks are more extended than stellar ones.

Magnetic white dwarfs: Observations, theory and future prospects

Science.gov (United States)

García-Berro, Enrique; Kilic, Mukremin; Kepler, Souza Oliveira

2016-01-01

Isolated magnetic white dwarfs have field strengths ranging from 103G to 109G, and constitute an interesting class of objects. The origin of the magnetic field is still the subject of a hot debate. Whether these fields are fossil, hence the remnants of original weak magnetic fields amplified during the course of the evolution of the progenitor of white dwarfs, or on the contrary, are the result of binary interactions or, finally, other physical mechanisms that could produce such large magnetic fields during the evolution of the white dwarf itself, remains to be elucidated. In this work, we review the current status and paradigms of magnetic fields in white dwarfs, from both the theoretical and observational points of view.

White dwarfs in the UKIRT infrared deep sky survey data release