Related papers: Magnetic White Dwarfs: Observations, Theory, and F…
A significant fraction of white dwarfs harbour a magnetic field with strengths ranging from a few kG up to about 1000 MG. The fraction appears to depend on the specific class of white dwarfs being investigated and may hold some clues to the…
A significant fraction of white dwarfs possess a magnetic field with strengths ranging from a few kG up to about 1000 MG. However, the incidence of magnetism varies when the white dwarf population is broken down into different spectral…
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…
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 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 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…
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 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…
The surface magnetic field strength of white dwarfs is observed to vary from very little to around 10^9 G. Here we examine the proposal that the strongest fields are generated by dynamo action during the common envelope phase of strongly…
Our ongoing spectroscopic survey of high proper motion stars is a rich source of new magnetic white dwarfs. We present a few examples among cool white dwarfs showing the effect of field strength and geometry on the observed optical…
Magnetic fields are present in roughly 10% of white dwarfs. These fields affect the structure and evolution of such stars, and may provide clues about their earlier evolution history. Particularly important for statistical studies is the…
We have detected longitudinal magnetic fields between 2 and 4 kG in three (WD 0446$-$790, WD 1105$-$048, WD 2359$-$434) out of a sample of 12 normal DA white dwarfs by using optical spectropolarimetry done with the VLT Antu 8 m telescope…
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 origin of magnetic white dwarfs (MWDs) has been a long-standing puzzle. Proposed origin mechanisms have included: fossil fields frozen in from the progenitor convective core; a dynamo in the progenitor envelope; crystallization dynamos…
Since their initial discovery, the origin of isolated white dwarfs (WDs) with magnetic fields in excess of $\sim$1 MG has remained a mystery. Recently, the formation of these high-field magnetic WDs has been observationally linked to strong…
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…
A significant fraction of white dwarfs, the degenerate remnants of low- and intermediate-mass stars, host strong magnetic fields; yet, the origin and evolution of these magnetic fields remain poorly understood. Building a large,…
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…
The detection of strong, large-scale magnetic fields at the surface of only the oldest population of white dwarfs might point towards a hidden internal magnetic field slowly rising to the surface. In addition, strong magnetic fields have…
Magnetic fields can play an important role in stellar evolution. Among white dwarfs, the most common stellar remnant, the fraction of magnetic systems is more than 20 per cent. The origin of magnetic fields in white dwarfs, which show…