Related papers: A Binary Scenario for the Formation of Strongly Ma…
The origin of highly-magnetized white dwarfs has remained a mystery since their initial discovery. Recent observations indicate that the formation of high-field magnetic white dwarfs is intimately related to strong binary interactions…
White dwarfs with surface magnetic fields in excess of $1 $MG are found as isolated single stars and relatively more often in magnetic cataclysmic variables. Some 1,253 white dwarfs with a detached low-mass main-sequence companion are…
The magnetic white dwarfs (MWDs) are found either isolated or in interacting binaries. They divide into two groups: a high field group (0.1-1,000MegaGauss) comprising some 13% of all white dwarfs (WDs), and a low field group (B<0.1MG) whose…
There are no known examples of magnetic white dwarfs with fields larger than about 3MG paired with a non-degenerate companion in detached binary systems. The suggestion is that highly magnetic, isolated white dwarfs may originate from stars…
The origin of magnetic fields in white dwarfs remains a fundamental unresolved problem in stellar astrophysics. In particular, the very different fractions of strongly (exceeding 1 MG) magnetic white dwarfs in evolutionarily linked…
The absence of magnetic white dwarfs with a non-degenerate low-mass stellar companion in a wide binary is still very intriguing and at odds with the hypothesis that magnetic white dwarfs are the progenies of the magnetically peculiar Ap/Bp…
Understanding the origin of the magnetic fields in white dwarfs (WDs) has been a puzzle for decades. A scenario that has gained considerable attention in the past years assumes that such magnetic fields are generated through a dynamo…
A significant fraction of isolated white dwarfs host magnetic fields in excess of a MegaGauss. Observations suggest that these fields originate in interacting binary systems where the companion is destroyed thus leaving a singular,…
Wickramasinghe et al. (2014) and Briggs et al. (2015) have proposed that the strong magnetic fields observed in some single white dwarfs (MWDs) are formed by a dynamo driven by differential rotation when two stars, the more massive one with…
In this paper we review the current status of research on the observational and theoretical characteristics of isolated and binary magnetic white dwarfs (MWDs). Magnetic fields of isolated MWDs are observed to lie in the range 10^3-10^9G.…
The origin of magnetic fields in isolated and binary white dwarfs has been investigated in a series of recent papers. One proposal is that magnetic fields are generated through an alpha-omega dynamo during common envelope evolution. Here we…
The presence of a strong magnetic field is a feature common to a significant fraction of degenerate stars, yet little is understood about field origin and evolution. New observational constraints from volume-limited surveys point to a more…
Recent observations of volume-limited samples of magnetic white dwarfs (WD) have revealed a higher incidence of magnetism in older WDs. Specifically, these studies indicate that magnetism is more prevalent in WDs with fully or partially…
In a series of recent papers, it has been proposed that high field magnetic white dwarfs are the result of close binary interaction and merging. Population synthesis calculations have shown that the origin of isolated highly magnetic white…
Magnetic fields generated by a dynamo mechanism due to differential rotation during stellar mergers are often proposed as an explanation for the presence of strong fields in certain classes of magnetic stars, including high field magnetic…
A magnetic dynamo driven by differential rotation generated when stars merge can explain strong fields in certain classes of magnetic stars, including the high field magnetic white dwarfs (HFMWDs). In their case the site of the differential…
Isolated magnetic white dwarfs have field strengths ranging from kilogauss to gigagauss, and constitute an interesting class of objects. The origin of the magnetic field is still the subject of a hot debate. Whether these fields are fossil,…
It has long been accepted that a possible mechanism for explaining the existence of magnetic white dwarfs is the merger of a binary white dwarf system, as there are viable mechanisms for producing sustainable magnetic fields within the…
A dynamo mechanism driven by differential rotation when stars merge has been proposed to explain the presence of strong fields in certain classes of magnetic stars. In the case of the high field magnetic white dwarfs (HFMWDs), the site of…
Isolated magnetic white dwarfs have field strengths ranging from kilogauss to gigagauss. However, the origin of the magnetic field has not been hitherto elucidated. Whether these fields are fossil, hence the remnants of original weak…