Related papers: An ultra-massive white dwarf with a mixed hydrogen…
White dwarfs (WDs) are the stellar core remnants of low mass stars. They are typically divided into three main composition groups: Oxygen Neon (ONe), Carbon Oxygen (CO) and Helium (He) WDs. The evolution of binary systems can significantly…
White dwarfs carry information on the structure and evolution of the Galaxy, especially through their luminosity function and initial-to-final mass relation. Very cool white dwarfs provide insight into the early ages of each population.…
We perform stellar evolution calculations of the remnant of the merger of two He white dwarfs (WDs). Our initial conditions are taken from hydrodynamic simulations of double WD mergers and the viscous disc phase that follows. We evolve…
White dwarf stars are the most common end point of stellar evolution. Of special interest are the ultramassive white dwarfs, as they are related to type Ia Supernovae explosions, merger events, and Fast Radio Bursts. Ultramassive white…
We have searched the Gaia DR2 catalogue for previously unknown hot white dwarfs in the direction of young open star clusters. The aim of this experiment was to try and extend the initial-final mass relation (IFMR) to somewhat higher masses,…
The mergers of double helium white dwarfs are believed to form isolated helium-rich hot subdwarfs. Observation shows that the helium-rich hot subdwarfs can be divided into two subgroups based on whether the surface is carbon-rich or…
Motivated by the recent detection of single and binary He-core white dwarfs in metal-rich clusters, we present a full set of evolutionary calculations and colors appropriate for the study of such white dwarfs. The paper is also aimed at…
We present a detailed analysis of all the known Hot DQ white dwarfs in the Fourth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) recently found to have carbon dominated atmospheres. Our spectroscopic and photometric analysis reveals…
We report the discovery of an extremely close, eclipsing binary system. A white dwarf is orbited by a core He-burning compact hot subdwarf star with a period as short as $\simeq0.04987 {\rm d}$ making this system the most compact hot…
Numerical and observational evidence suggests that massive white dwarfs dominate the innermost regions of core-collapsed globular clusters by both number and total mass. Using NGC 6397 as a test case, we constrain the features of white…
White dwarfs that accrete the debris of tidally disrupted asteroids provide the opportunity to measure the bulk composition of the building blocks, or fragments, of exoplanets. This technique has established a diversity in compositions…
White dwarf WD 1145+017 is orbited by several clouds of dust, possibly emanating from actively disintegrating bodies. These dust clouds reveal themselves through deep, broad, and evolving transits in the star's light curve. Here, we report…
Nearly all known white dwarf planetary systems contain detectable rocky debris in the stellar photosphere. A glaring exception is the young and still evolving white dwarf WD J0914+1914, which instead harbours a giant planet and a disc of…
Hydrogen deficient stars include the cool R CrB variable (RCBs) and hydrogen-deficient carbon (HdCs) giants through extreme helium stars (EHes) to the very hot helium-rich subdwarfs (He-sdO and O(He) stars) and white dwarfs. With surfaces…
We present high-speed ULTRACAM and SOFI photometry and X-shooter spectroscopy of the recently discovered 94 minute orbital period eclipsing white dwarf / main-sequence binary SDSS J085746.18+034255.3 (CSS 03170) and use these observations…
The metal abundances in the atmospheres of hot white dwarfs (WDs) entering the cooling sequence are determined by the preceding Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) evolutionary phase and, subsequently, by the onset of gravitational settling and…
White dwarf (WD) binary mergers are possible progenitors to a number of unusual stars and transient phenomena, including type Ia supernovae. To date, simulations of mergers have not included magnetic fields, even though they are believed to…
We present an analysis of spectroscopic data of the cool, highly magnetic and polluted white dwarf 2MASS J0916-4215. The atmosphere of the white dwarf is dominated by hydrogen, but numerous spectral lines of magnesium, calcium, titanium,…
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…
We study the evolution and final outcome of long-lived (${\approx}10^5$ years) remnants from the merger of a He white dwarf (WD) with a more massive C/O or O/Ne WD. Using Modules for Experiments in Stellar Astrophysics ($\texttt{MESA}$), we…