Related papers: White dwarfs as physics laboratories: the case of …
As dense and hot bodies with a well-understood equation of state, white dwarfs offer a unique opportunity to investigate new physics. In this paper, we examine the role of dark sectors, which are extensions of the Standard Model of particle…
A photometric and spectroscopic analysis of 152 cool white dwarf stars is presented. The discovery of 7 new DA white dwarfs, 2 new DQ white dwarfs, 1 new magnetic white dwarf, and 3 weak magnetic white dwarf candidates, is reported, as well…
The vast majority of stars that populate the Universe will end their evolution as white-dwarf stars. Applications of white dwarfs include cosmochronology, evolution of planetary systems, and also as laboratories to study non-standard…
We describe the evolution of double degenerate binary systems, consisting of components obeying the zero temperature mass radius relationship for white dwarf stars, from the onset of mass transfer to one of several possible outcomes…
We describe a new survey for cool white dwarfs that supplements Sloan Digital Sky Survey photometry with USNO proper motions and follow-up spectroscopy. To date we have discovered and spectroscopically confirmed 80 new moderate temperature…
We present 4.5$\mu$m and 8$\mu$m photometric observations of 18 cool white dwarfs obtained with the Spitzer Space Telescope. Our observations demonstrate that four white dwarfs with T_eff< 6000 K show slightly depressed mid-infrared fluxes…
It was shown in ref. [1] that cold dark matter axions reach thermal contact with baryons, and therefore cool them, shortly after the axions thermalize among themselves and form a Bose-Einstein condensate. The recent observation by the EDGES…
Pulsating white dwarfs with hydrogen-rich atmospheres, also known as DAV stars, can be used as astrophysical laboratories to constrain the properties of fundamental particles like axions. Comparing the measured cooling rates of these stars…
We present an analytical model for the evolution of brown dwarfs in quadratic Palatini f(R) gravity. We improve previous studies by adopting a more realistic description of the partially-degenerate state that characterizes brown dwarfs.…
We study the effects of the sedimentation of the trace element 22Ne in the cooling of white dwarfs. In contrast with previous studies, which adopted a simplified treatment of the effects of 22Ne sedimentation, this is done self-consistently…
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…
White dwarfs are excellent research laboratories as they reach temperatures, pressures, and magnetic fields that are unattainable on Earth. To better understand how these three physical parameters interact with each other and with other…
The light pseudoscalar particle, dubbed the axion, borne out of the Peccei-Quinn solution to the strong CP problem in QCD remains elusive. One avenue of inferring its existence is through its coupling to electromagnetic radiation. So far,…
Early data taken during commissioning of the SDSS have resulted in the discovery of a very cool white dwarf. It appears to have stronger collision induced absorption from molecular hydrogen than any other known white dwarf, suggesting it…
In a previous study, we analysed the spectra of 230 cool ($T_\mathrm{eff}$ < 9000 K) white dwarfs exhibiting strong metal contamination, measuring abundances for Ca, Mg, Fe and in some cases Na, Cr, Ti, or Ni. Here we interpret these…
White dwarf (WD) stars are considered cosmic laboratories to study the physics of dense plasma. Furthermore, the use of WD stars as cosmic clocks to date stellar populations and main sequence companions demands an appropriate understanding…
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…
We present an empirical determination of the white dwarf cooling sequence in the globular cluster 47 Tucanae. Using spectral models, we determine temperatures for 887 objects from Wide Field Camera 3 data, as well as 292 objects from data…
White dwarfs with metal lines in their spectra act as signposts for post-main sequence planetary systems. Searching the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) data release 12, we have identified 231 cool (<9000 K) DZ white dwarfs with strong metal…
Cooling white dwarfs (WDs) can yield accurate ages when theoretical cooling models fully account for the physics of the dense plasma of WD interiors. We use MESA to investigate cooling models for a set of massive and ultra-massive WDs…