We present the preliminary results of a survey of the open clusters NGC3532 and NGC2287 for new white dwarf members which can help improve understanding of the form of the upper end of the stellar initial mass-final mass relation. We identify four objects with cooling times, distances and proper motions consistent with membership of these clusters. We find that despite a range in age of ~100Myr the masses of the four heaviest white dwarfs in NGC3532 span the narrow mass interval M~0.9-1.0Msolar suggesting that the initial mass-final mass relation is relatively flatter over 4.5Msolar <~ M_init <~ 6.5Msolar than at immediately lower masses. Additionally, we have unearthed WD J0646-203 which is possibly the most massive cluster white dwarf identified to date. With M~1.1Msolar it seems likely to be composed of ONe and has a cooling time consistent with it having evolved from a single star.
@article{arxiv.1012.5342,
title = {New white dwarfs for the stellar initial mass-final mass relation},
author = {Paul Dobbie and Richard Baxter},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1012.5342},
year = {2015}
}
Comments
17th European White Dwarf Workshop, Tuebingen 2010, AIP Conf. Proc. 1273, 31