Related papers: Axions and the white dwarf luminosity function
We study the effects of exceptionally light QCD axions on the stellar configuration of white dwarfs. At finite baryon density, the non-derivative coupling of the axion to nucleons displaces the axion from its in-vacuum minimum which implies…
Low mass axion-like particles could be produced in abundance within the cores of hot, compact magnetic white dwarf (MWD) stars from electron bremsstrahlung and converted to detectable X-rays in the strong magnetic fields surrounding these…
White dwarf (WD) stars may radiate keV-energy axions produced in their stellar cores. This has been extensively studied as an extra channel by which WDs may cool, with some analyses even suggesting that axions can help explain the observed…
The white dwarf luminosity function is well understood in terms of standard model physics and leaves little room for exotic cooling mechanisms related to the possible existence of new weakly interacting light particles. This puts…
Recent determinations of the white dwarf luminosity function (WDLF) from very large surveys have extended our knowledge of the WDLF to very high luminosities. It has been shown that the shape of the luminosity function of white dwarfs…
Axion-photon oscillation refers to the process of mutual conversion between photons and axions when they propagate in a magnetic field. This process depends on the strength of the background magnetic field, and magnetic white dwarfs provide…
Axions are possible candidates of dark matter in the present Universe. They have been argued to form axionic boson stars with small masses $10^{-14}M_{\odot}\sim 10^{-11}M_{\odot}$. Since they possess oscillating electric fields in a…
Polarization measurements of thermal radiation from magnetic white dwarf (MWD) stars have been proposed as a probe of axion-photon mixing. The radiation leaving the surface of the MWD is unpolarized, but if low-mass axions exist then…
The energy loss rate of a magnetized electron gas emitting axions a due to the process $e^- \to e^- +a$ is derived for arbitrary magnetic field strength B. Requiring that for a strongly magnetized neutron star the axion luminosity is…
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…
Axion as one of the promising dark matter candidates can be detected through narrow radio lines emitted from the magnetic white dwarf stars. Due to the existence of the strong magnetic field, the axion may resonantly convert into the radio…
We show that the inclusion of axion emission during stellar evolution introduces important changes into the evolutionary behaviour of AGB stars. The mass of the resulting C/O white dwarf is much lower than the equivalent obtained from…
If axions exist, they are copiously produced in hot and dense plasmas, carrying away energy directly from the interior of stars. Various astronomical observables constrain the operation of such anomalous stellar energy-loss channels and…
A number of so-called ultra-cool white dwarfs have been detected in different surveys so far. However, based on anecdotal evidence it is believed that most or all of these ultra-cool white dwarfs are low-mass products of binary evolution…
We present the first radiation magnetohydrodynamics simulations of the atmosphere of white dwarf stars. We demonstrate that convective energy transfer is seriously impeded by magnetic fields when the plasma-beta parameter, the thermal to…
In our galaxy, white dwarfs inevitably undergo scattering and capture processes with the interstellar diffuse dark matter. The captured dark matter forms a dark halo that eventually evaporates or annihilates. Theoretical pulsation modes and…
We present the most sensitive search to date for light axion-like particles with masses below a micro-eV, using spectropolarimetric data collected from the Lick and Keck Observatories. The conversion of optical photons emitted from the…
The thermal evolution of a neutron star is studied by including the energy loss due to axion emission. Two axion models and three types of neutron-star matter equation of state are used with the effects of nucleon superfluidity properly…
Abridged. White dwarf stars are the final evolutionary stage of the vast majority of stars, including our Sun. The study of white dwarfs has potential applications to different fields of astrophysics. In particular, they can be used as…
We present a detailed analysis of 108 helium-line (DB) white dwarfs based on model atmosphere fits to high signal-to-noise optical spectroscopy. We derive a mean mass of 0.67 Mo for our sample, with a dispersion of only 0.09 Mo. White…