- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/794/35
- Title:
- Binary white dwarfs atmospheric parameters
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/794/35
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We present a detailed spectroscopic analysis of 61 low-mass white dwarfs and provide precise atmospheric parameters, masses, and updated binary system parameters based on our new model atmosphere grids and the most recent evolutionary model calculations. For the first time, we measure systematic abundances of He, Ca, and Mg for metal-rich, extremely low mass white dwarfs and examine the distribution of these abundances as a function of effective temperature and mass. Based on our preliminary results, we discuss the possibility that shell flashes may be responsible for the presence of the observed He and metals. We compare stellar radii derived from our spectroscopic analysis to model-independent measurements and find good agreement except for white dwarfs with T_eff_<~10000 K. We also calculate the expected gravitational wave strain for each system and discuss their significance to the eLISA space-borne gravitational wave observatory. Finally, we provide an update on the instability strip of extremely low mass white dwarf pulsators.
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Search Results
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/902/127
- Title:
- Bright Gaia white dwarfs with unWISE photometry
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/902/127
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- Studies of excess infrared radiation around white dwarfs provide important constraints on the evolution of planetary systems and low-mass companions beyond the main-sequence stage. In this paper series, we focus on identifying and characterizing bright white dwarfs with an infrared excess. Here, we present 188 infrared excess candidates from Gaia and unWISE, 147 of which are new discoveries. Further characterization of this sample can significantly increase the current list of white dwarf debris disks and white dwarfs with low-mass companions.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/MNRAS/472/4173
- Title:
- Bright white dwarfs for high-speed photometry
- Short Name:
- J/MNRAS/472/4173
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- 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 17mag. 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 25pc 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.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/MNRAS/459/1415
- Title:
- Bright white dwarfs IRAC photometry
- Short Name:
- J/MNRAS/459/1415
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We cross-correlate several sources of archival photometry for 1265 bright (V~16mag) white dwarfs (WDs) with available high signal-to-noise spectroscopy. We find 381 WDs with archival Spitzer+IRAC data and investigate this subsample for infrared excesses due to circumstellar dust. This large data set reveals 15 dusty WDs, including three new debris discs and the hottest WD known to host dust (WD 0010+280). We study the frequency of debris discs at WDs as function of mass. The frequency peaks at 12.5 per cent for 0.7-0.75M_{sun}_ WDs (with 3M_{sun}_ main-sequence star progenitors) and falls off for stars more massive than this, which mirrors predicted planet occurrence rates for stars of different masses.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJS/133/413
- Title:
- BVRIJHK photometry of cool white dwarfs
- Short Name:
- J/ApJS/133/413
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- A detailed photometric and spectroscopic analysis of cool (T_eff_<~12000K) white dwarf stars is presented. The sample has been drawn from the Yale Parallax Catalog and from a proper motion survey in the southern hemisphere. Optical BVRI and infrared JHK photometry, as well as spectroscopy at H{alpha}, have been secured for a sample of 152 white dwarfs. The discovery of seven new DA white dwarfs, two new DQ white dwarfs, one new magnetic white dwarf, and three weak magnetic white dwarf candidates, is reported. Our sample also identifies 19 known or suspected double degenerates.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/AJ/157/3
- Title:
- BVRI light curves of the binary QS Vir
- Short Name:
- J/AJ/157/3
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We observed the post-common-envelope eclipsing binary with a white dwarf component, QS Vir, using the 1.88 m telescope of Kotammia Observatory in Egypt. The new observations were analyzed together with all multicolor light curves available online (sampling a period of 25 yr), using a full-feature binary system modeling software based on Roche geometry. This is the first time complete photometric modeling was done with most of these data. QS Vir is a detached system, with the red dwarf component underfilling its Roche lobe by a small margin. All light curves feature out-of-eclipse variability that is associated with ellipsoidal variation, mutual irradiation and irregularities in surface brightness of the tidally distorted and magnetically active red dwarf. We tested models with one, two, and three dark spots and found that one spot is sufficient to account for the light curve asymmetry in all data sets, although this does not rule out the presence of multiple spots. We also found that a single spotted model cannot fit light curves observed simultaneously in different filters. Instead, each filter requires a different spot configuration. To thoroughly explore the parameter space of spot locations, we devised a grid-search procedure and used it to find consistent solutions. Based on this, we conclude that the dark spot responsible for light curve distortions has been stable for the past 15 yr, after a major migration that happened between 1993 and 2002, possibly due to a flip-flop event.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/AJ/157/229
- Title:
- CALSPEC: WFC3 infrared grism spectrophotometry
- Short Name:
- J/AJ/157/229
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- The collections of spectral energy distributions (SEDs) in the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) CALSPEC database are augmented by 19 infrared (IR) SEDs from Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) IR grism spectra. Together, the two IR grisms, G102 and G141, cover the 0.8-1.7 {mu}m range with resolutions of R=200 and 150, respectively. These new WFC3 SEDs overlap existing CALSPEC Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) standard star flux distributions at 0.8-1 {mu}m with agreement to ~<1%. Some CALSPEC standards already have near-IR camera and multi-object spectrogragh (NICMOS) SEDs; but in their overlap region at 0.8-1.7 {mu}m, the WFC3 data have better wavelength accuracy, better spectral resolution, better repeatability, and, consequently, better flux distributions of ~1% accuracy in our CALSPEC absolute flux SEDs versus ~2% for NICMOS. With the improved SEDs in the WFC3 range, the modeled extrapolations to 32 {mu}m for the James Webb Space Telescope flux standards begin to lose precision longward of the 1.7 {mu}m WFC3 limit, instead of at the 1.0-{mu}m-long wavelength limit for STIS. For example, the extrapolated IR flux longward of 1.7 {mu}m for 1808347 increases by ~1% for the model fit to the data with WFC3, instead of just to the STIS SED alone.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/790/164
- Title:
- Candidate bulge WDs in the SWEEPS field
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/790/164
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We present Hubble Space Telescope data of the low-reddening Sagittarius window in the Galactic bulge. The Sagittarius Window Eclipsing Extrasolar Planet Search field (~3'x3'), together with three more Advanced Camera for Surveys and eight Wide-Field Camera 3 fields, were observed in the F606W and F814W filters, approximately every two weeks for 2 yr, with the principal aim of detecting a hidden population of isolated black holes and neutron stars through astrometric microlensing. Proper motions were measured with an accuracy of ~0.1 mas/yr (~4 km/s) at F606W ~25.5 mag, and better than ~0.5 mas/yr (~20 km/s) at F606W ~28 mag, in both axes. Proper-motion measurements allowed us to separate disk and bulge stars and obtain a clean bulge color-magnitude diagram. We then identified for the first time a white dwarf (WD) cooling sequence in the Galactic bulge, together with a dozen candidate extreme horizontal branch stars. The comparison between theory and observations shows that a substantial fraction of the WDs (~30%) are systematically redder than the cooling tracks for CO-core H-rich and He-rich envelope WDs. This evidence would suggest the presence of a significant number of low-mass WDs and WD-main-sequence binaries in the bulge. This hypothesis is further supported by the finding of two dwarf novae in outburst, two short-period (P <~ 1 day) ellipsoidal variables, and a few candidate cataclysmic variables in the same field.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/other/Sci/292.698
- Title:
- Candidate halo dark matter
- Short Name:
- J/other/Sci/292.
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- The Milky Way galaxy contains a large, spherical component which is believed to harbor a substantial amount of unseen matter. Recent observations indirectly suggest that as much as half of this "dark matter" may be in the form of old, very cool white dwarfs, the remnants of an ancient population of stars as old as the galaxy itself. We conducted a survey to find faint, cool white dwarfs with large space velocities, indicative of their membership in the galaxy's spherical halo component. The survey reveals a substantial, directly observed population of old white dwarfs, too faint to be seen in previous surveys. This newly discovered population accounts for at least 2 percent of the halo dark matter. It provides a natural explanation for the indirect observations, and represents a direct detection of galactic halo dark matter.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/872/199
- Title:
- Candidate spectrophotometric standard DA WDs
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/872/199
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We present precise photometry and spectroscopy for 23 candidate spectrophotometric standard white dwarfs. The selected stars are distributed in the Northern hemisphere and around the celestial equator, and are all fainter than r~16.5mag. This network of stars, when established as standards and together with the three Hubble Space Telescope primary CALSPEC white dwarfs, will provide a set of spectrophotometric standards to directly calibrate data products to better than 1%. In future deep photometric surveys and facilities, these new faint standard white dwarfs will have enough signal-to-noise ratio to be measured accurately while still avoiding saturation. They will also fall within the dynamic range of large telescopes and their instruments for the foreseeable future. This paper discusses the provenance of the observational data for our candidate standard stars.
