Related papers: AR Sco: A White Dwarf Synchronar
An analysis of ROSAT observations for the eclipsing magnetic cataclysmic binary DP Leo provides constraints on the origin, size, temperature, variability and structure of the soft X-ray emission region on the surface of the white dwarf.…
Detecting coherent radio bursts from nearby M dwarfs provides opportunities for exploring their magnetic activity and interaction with orbiting exoplanets. However, it remains uncertain if the emission is related to flare-like activity…
I review the properties and discuss some of the puzzling aspects of the unique binary system composed of the luminous hot subdwarf HD 49798 and a white dwarf with mass of 1.2 solar masses and spin period of 13.2 s. This is one of the few…
One of the two outcomes of a common envelope event is a merger of the two stars. To date, the best known case of a binary merger is the V1309 Sco outburst, where the orbital period was known and observed to decay up to the outburst. Using…
We report the discovery of a new detached, double white dwarf system with an orbital period of 39.8 min. We targeted SDSS J163030.58+423305.8 (hereafter J1630) as part of our radial velocity program to search for companions around low-mass…
Two classes of high energy sources in our galaxy are believed to host magnetars, neutron stars whose emission results from the dissipation of their magnetic field. The extremely high magnetic field of magnetars distorts their shape, and…
Binary neutron-star (BNS) mergers are accompanied by multi-messenger emissions, including gravitational wave (GW), neutrino, and electromagnetic signals. Some fraction of BNS mergers may result in a rapidly spinning magnetar as a remnant,…
We report the discovery of a rare close binary system, SMSS J160639.78-100010.7, comprised of a magnetic white dwarf with a field of about 30 MG and a brown dwarf. We measured an orbital period of 92 min which is consistent with the…
The distribution of white dwarf rotation periods provides a means for constraining angular momentum evolution during the late stages of stellar evolution, as well as insight into the physics and remnants of double degenerate mergers.…
V1432 Aquilae is the only known eclipsing asynchronous polar. In this respect it is unique and therefore merits our attention. We report the results of a 15-year campaign by the globally distributed Center for Backyard Astrophysics to…
Close binaries of double white dwarfs (DWDs) inspiral and merge by emitting gravitational wave (GW). Orbital motion of some of these binaries are expected to be observed at low frequency band by space-borne laser interferometric detectors…
There has been a growing interest within the astrophysics community in highly magnetized and fast-spinning white dwarfs (WDs), commonly referred to as HMWDs. WDs with these characteristics are quite uncommon and possess magnetic fields…
The merger of a neutron star (NS) binary may result in the formation of a long-lived, or indefinitely stable, millisecond magnetar remnant surrounded by a low-mass ejecta shell. A portion of the magnetar's prodigious rotational energy is…
We report the discovery of an isolated white dwarf with a spin period of 70 s. We obtained high speed photometry of three ultramassive white dwarfs within 100 pc, and discovered significant variability in one. SDSS J221141.80+113604.4 is a…
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.…
X-ray synchrotron emission tells us of the highest energy reached by accelerated electrons. In a few supernova remnants (SN 1006, G347.3-0.5) this is the dominant form of X-ray radiation, but in most it is superposed to the dominant thermal…
We systematically explore the evolution of the merger of two carbon-oxygen (CO) white dwarfs. The dynamical evolution of a 0.9 Msun + 0.6 Msun CO white dwarf merger is followed by a three-dimensional SPH simulation. We use an elaborate…
It has been recently suggested that white dwarfs generate magnetic fields in a process analogous to the Earth. The crystallization of the core creates a compositional inversion that drives convection, and combined with rotation, this can…
White dwarfs typically have masses in a narrow range centered at about 0.6 solar masses (Msun). Only a few ultra-massive white dwarfs (M>1.2 Msun) are known. Those in binary systems are of particular interest because a small amount of…
In AE Aqr, magnetic fields transfer energy and angular momentum from a rapidly spinning white dwarf to material in the gas stream from the companion star, with the effect of spinning down the white dwarf while flinging the gas stream…