Related papers: The bottom of the white dwarf cooling sequence in …
Given the importance of white dwarfs (WDs) in many fields of modern astrophysics, the precise knowledge of the actual degree of accuracy of the associated theoretical predictions is a primary task. In the first paper of a series dedicated…
I explore the current ability of both white dwarf cooling theory and main sequence stellar evolution theory to accurately determine stellar population ages by comparing ages derived using both techniques for open clusters ranging from 0.1…
NGC 6397 is one of the most interesting, well observed and theoretically studied globular clusters. The existing wealth of observations allows us to study the reliability of the theoretical white dwarf cooling sequences of low metallicity…
We present the white dwarf sequence of the globular cluster M4, based on a 123 orbit Hubble Space Telescope exposure, with limiting magnitude V = 30, I = 28. The white dwarf luminosity function rises sharply for I >25.5, consistent with the…
We combine infrared (IR) observations collected by the James Webb Space Telescope with optical deep images by the Hubble Space Telescope taken approximately 20 years earlier to compute proper-motion membership for the globular cluster (GC)…
We present evolutionary calculations and colors for massive white dwarfs with oxygen-neon cores for masses between 1.06 and 1.28 Mo. The evolutionary stages computed cover the luminosity range from log(L/Lo) approx. 0.5 down to -5.2. Our…
We report the results of a CCD imaging survey, complimented by astrometric and spectroscopic follow-up studies, that aims to probe the fate of heavy-weight intermediate mass stars by unearthing new, faint, white dwarf members of the rich,…
With the Keck I Low-Resolution Imaging Spectrometer we have observed nine white dwarf candidates in the very rich open cluster NGC 2099 (M37). The spectroscopy shows seven to be DA white dwarfs, one to be a DB white dwarf, and one to be a…
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…
With the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) on the Hubble Space Telescope, we have discovered in M4 (NGC 6121, C 1620-264) the first extensive sequence of cooling white dwarfs seen in a globular cluster. Adopting a distance modulus of…
We report on $UBVRI$ CCD photometry of two overlapping fields in the region of the intermediate-age open cluster NGC 2158 down to V=21. By analyzing Colour-Colour (CC) and Colour-Magnitude Diagrams (CMD) we infer a reddening $E_{B-V}=…
White dwarfs are the final remnants of low- and intermediate-mass stars. Their evolution is essentially a cooling process that lasts for $\sim 10$ Gyr. Their observed properties provide information about the history of the Galaxy, its dark…
We present a study of the white dwarf (WD) cooling sequence of the globular cluster 47 Tucanae (47 Tuc or NGC 104) using deep infrared observations with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). By combining these data with ultra-deep optical…
Deep Hubble Space Telescope (HST) observations with WFPC2 of the nearby globular cluster NGC 6752 have allowed us to obtain accurate photometry for the cluster white dwarfs (WD). A sample of local WDs of known trigonometric parallax and…
We present new white dwarf cooling models which incorporate an accurate outer boundary condition based on new opacity and detailed radiative transfer calculations. We find that helium atmosphere dwarfs cool considerably faster than has…
Using WFPC2 on the Hubble Space Telescope, we have isolated a sample of 258 white dwarfs (WDs) in the Galactic globular cluster M4. Fields at three radial distances from the cluster center were observed and sizeable WD populations were…
We present deep VI photometry of stars in the globular cluster M5 (NGC 5904) based on images taken with the Hubble Space Telescope. The resulting color-magnitude diagram reaches below V ~ 27 mag, revealing the upper 2-3 magnitudes of the…
We present optical spectroscopy and near-infrared photometry of 57 faint ($g= 19-22$) high proper motion white dwarfs identified through repeat imaging of $\approx3100$ square degrees of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey footprint by Munn et al.…
We discuss the importance of pure hydrogen white dwarf atmosphere models with Ly-$\rm \alpha$ far red wing opacity in the analysis of the white dwarf cooling sequence of the globular cluster NGC 6397. Our recently improved atmosphere models…
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 ten cool white dwarf candidates, from their photometry and…