Related papers: Parameter-free Stark Broadening of Hydrogen Lines …
We present improved calculations for the Stark broadening of hydrogen lines in dense plasmas typical of white dwarf atmospheres. Our new model is based on the unified theory of Stark broadening from Vidal, Cooper, & Smith. For the first…
White dwarf and pre-white dwarf atmospheres are one of the best examples for the application of Stark broadening research results in astrophysics, due to plasma conditions very favorable for this line broadening mechanism. For example in…
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…
We have conducted a spectroscopic survey of over 1300 bright (V < 17.5), hydrogen-rich white dwarfs based largely on the last published version of the McCook & Sion catalog. The complete results from our survey, including the spectroscopic…
Besides the need of Stark broadening parameters for a number of problems in physics, and plasma technology, in hot star atmospheres the conditions exist where Stark widths are comparable and even larger than the thermal Doppler widths.…
The study of Stark broadening of neutral helium lines, despite significant advances over recent decades, has not led to updated large grids of helium line profiles relevant to the spectroscopic study of helium-rich stars. While the…
We examine the emergent fluxes from helium-core white dwarfs following their evolution from the end of pre-white dwarf stages down to advanced cooling stages. For this purpose, we include a detailed treatment of the physics of the…
We present a comprehensive investigation of He I line profile calculations used in the spectroscopic analyses of DB white dwarfs. Our study includes an in-depth photometric and spectroscopic analysis of all DB white dwarfs in the Data…
The determination of atmospheric parameters of white dwarf stars (WDs) is crucial for researches on them. Traditional methodology is to fit the model spectra to observed absorption lines and report the parameters with the lowest $\chi ^2$…
The atmospheres of very cool, hydrogen-rich white dwarfs (Teff <6000 K) are challenging to models because of the increased complexity of the equation of state, chemical equilibrium, and opacity sources in a low-temperature, weakly ionized…
We present a detailed calculation of model atmospheres for DA white dwarfs. Our atmosphere code solves the atmosphere structure in local thermodynamic equilibrium with a standard partial linearization technique, which takes into account the…
Our preliminary results from laboratory experiments studying white dwarf (WD) photospheres show a systematic difference between experimental plasma conditions inferred from measured H$\beta$ absorption line profiles versus those from…
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…
As part of our laboratory investigation of the theoretical line profiles used in white dwarf atmosphere models, we extend the electron-density ($n_{\rm e}$) range measured by our experiments to higher densities (up to…
The hydrogen abundances in DBA white dwarfs determined from optical or UV spectra have been reported to differ significantly in some studies. We revisit this problem using our own model atmospheres and synthetic spectra, and present a…
Arguably, the best method for determining the effective temperature ($T_{\mathrm{eff}}$) and surface gravity (log $g$) of a DA white dwarf is by fitting the Hydrogen Lyman and Balmer absorption features. However, as has been shown for white…
We present a synopsis of the project to establish thirty-two new faint ($ 16.5 \leq V \leq 19.8 $) DA white dwarfs as spectrophotometric standards distributed over the whole sky. Our results validate the use of fully radiative pure hydrogen…
Line shapes of the magnesium resonance lines in white dwarf spectra are determined by the properties of magnesium atoms and the structure of the white dwarf atmosphere. Through their blanketing effect, these lines have a dominant influence…
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…
As they evolve, white dwarfs undergo major changes in surface composition, a phenomenon known as spectral evolution. In particular, some stars enter the cooling sequence with helium atmospheres (type DO) but eventually develop hydrogen…