Related papers: White dwarf constraints on a varying $G$
The measured rates of period change, $\dot{P}$, in the signals of pulsating white dwarf stars are often interpreted as direct detections of structural changes from secular cooling. Due to the intrinsic nature of this quantity, $\dot{P}$…
The prediction of the spins of the compact remnants is a fundamental goal of the theory of stellar evolution. Here, we confront the predictions for white dwarf spins from evolutionary models including rotation with observational…
We examine the statistics of main-sequence / main-sequence, main-sequence / white-dwarf and white-dwarf / white-dwarf wide binaries at 10^2.5-10^4 AU separations in Gaia data. For binaries containing a white dwarf, we find a complex…
Scalar-tensor theories of gravity can lead to modifications of the gravitational force inside astrophysical objects. We exhibit that compact stars such as white dwarfs provide a unique set-up to test beyond Horndeski theories of ${\rm G}^3$…
Theories that attempt to unify the four fundamental interactions and alternative theories of gravity predict time and/or spatial variation of the fundamental constants of nature. Different versions of these theories predict different…
We use the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 12, which is the largest available white dwarf catalog to date, to study the evolution of the kinematical properties of the population of white dwarfs in the Galactic disc. We derive masses,…
We investigate the evolution of isolated, zero and finite temperature, massive, uniformly rotating and highly magnetized white dwarf stars under angular momentum loss driven by magnetic dipole braking. We consider the structure and thermal…
We review empirical and theoretical findings concerning white dwarfs in Galactic globular clusters. Since their detection is a critical issue we describe in detail the various efforts to find white dwarfs in globular clusters. We then…
Pulsating white dwarfs provide constraints to the evolution of progenitor stars. We revise He-burning stellar models, with particular attention to core convection and to its connection with the nuclear reactions powering energy generation…
White dwarf stars constitute the final evolutionary stage for more than 95 per cent of all stars. The Galactic population of white dwarfs conveys a wealth of information about several fundamental issues and are of vital importance to study…
We provide a fine and homogeneous grid of evolutionary sequences for He-core white dwarfs with masses 0.15-0.45 Msun, including the mass range for ELM white dwarfs (<0.20Msun). The grid is appropriate for mass and age determination, and to…
There could be a significant population of double white dwarf binaries (DWDs) inside globular clusters (GCs), however, these are often too faint to be individually observed. We have utilized a large number GC models evolved with the Monte…
We present the first set of constant rest-mass ultra-massive oxygen/neon white dwarf cooling tracks with masses larger than 1.29 Msun which fully take into account the effects of general relativity on their structural and evolutionary…
The discovery of pulsations in some low-mass white dwarfs, including the so-called extremely low-mass white dwarfs, has opened the unprecedented opportunity of probing the internal structure of these ancient stars. We present a detailed…
White dwarfs are well studied objects. The relative simplicity of their physics allows to obtain very detailed models which can be ultimately compared with their observed properties. Among white dwarfs there is a specific class of stars,…
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…
The evolution of white dwarfs is essentially a gravothermal process of cooling in which the basic ingredients for predicting their evolution are well identified, although not always well understood. There are two independent ways to test…
We explore the effects of element diffusion due to gravitational settling and thermal and chemical diffusion on the pulsational properties of DA white dwarfs. To this end, we employ an updated evolutionary code coupled with a pulsational,…
We present the first detailed 3D kinematic analysis of a sample of 3133 white dwarfs that use Gaia astrometry plus radial velocities, which were measured either by Gaia or by ground based spectroscopic observations. The sample includes…
An accurate assessment of white dwarf cooling times is paramount to place white dwarf cosmochronology of Galactic populations on more solid grounds. This issue is particularly relevant in view of the enhanced observational capabilities…