Related papers: Horizontal spreading of planetary debris accreted …
We present a Monte Carlo simulation designed to predict the vertical velocity dispersion of brown dwarfs in the Milky Way. We show that since these stars are constantly cooling, the velocity dispersion has a noticeable trend with spectral…
We present the first radiation magnetohydrodynamics simulations of the atmosphere of white dwarf stars. We demonstrate that convective energy transfer is seriously impeded by magnetic fields when the plasma-beta parameter, the thermal to…
With the goal of using externally-polluted white dwarfs to investigate the water fractions of extrasolar planetesimals, we assemble from the literature a sample that we estimate to be more than 60% complete of DB white dwarfs warmer than…
Around 10% of white dwarfs exhibit global magnetic structures with fields ranging from 1 kG to hundreds of MG. Recently, the first radiation magnetohydrodynamics simulations of the atmosphere of white dwarfs showed that convection should be…
We examine the properties of white dwarfs (WDs) accreting hydrogen-rich matter in and near the stable burning regime of accretion rates as modeled by time-dependent calculations done with Modules for Experiments in Stellar Astrophysics…
The accretion of tidally disrupted planetary bodies is the current consensus model for the presence of photospheric metals commonly detected in white dwarfs. While most dynamical studies have considered a single star and associated…
A significant fraction of white dwarfs show metal lines indicative of pollution with planetary material but the accretion process remains poorly understood. The main aim of this paper is to produce a road-map illustrating several potential…
Diffusion coefficients are essential microphysics input for modeling white dwarf evolution, as they impact phase separation at crystallization and sedimentary heat sources. Present schemes for computing diffusion coefficients are accurate…
We report the discovery of excess K-band radiation from a metal-rich DAV white dwarf star, WD1150-153. Our near infrared spectroscopic observations show that the excess radiation cannot be explained by a (sub)stellar companion, and is…
White dwarfs represent the endpoint of stellar evolution for stars with initial masses between approximately 0.07 msun and 8-10 msun, where msun is the mass of the Sun (more massive stars end their life as either black holes or neutron…
Brown dwarfs are essential targets for understanding planetary and sub-stellar atmospheres across a wide range of thermal and chemical conditions. As surveys continue to probe ever deeper, and as observing capabilities continue to improve,…
Hydrogen atmosphere white dwarfs with metal lines, so-called DAZs, show evidence for ongoing accretion of material onto their surfaces. Some DAZs are known to have unresolved M dwarf companions, which could account for the observed…
The convective dredge-up of carbon from the interiors of hydrogen-deficient white dwarfs has long been invoked to explain the presence of carbon absorption features in the spectra of cool DQ stars ($T_{\rm eff} < 10{,}000\,{\rm K}$). It has…
Nine metal-polluted white dwarfs are observed with medium-resolution optical spectroscopy,where photospheric abundances are determined and interpreted through comparison against solar system objects. An improved method of making such…
We present new cooling sequences, color-magnitude diagrams, and color-color diagrams for cool white dwarfs with pure hydrogen atmospheres down to an effective temperature $\te=1500$ K. We include a more detailed treatment of the physics of…
The photospheres of some white dwarfs are "polluted" by accretion of material from their surrounding planetary debris. White dwarfs with dust disks are often heavily polluted and high-resolution spectroscopic observations of these systems…
Recent infrared observations have revealed presence of compact (radii < R_Sun) debris disks around more than a dozen of metal-rich white dwarfs (WD), likely produced by tidal disruption of asteroids. Accretion of high-Z material from these…
With the first observations of debris disks as well as proposed planets around white dwarfs, the question of how rocky planets around such stellar remnants can be characterized and probed for signs of life becomes tangible. White dwarfs are…
Metal pollution in white dwarf photospheres originates from the accretion of some combination of planets, moons, asteroids, comets, boulders, pebbles and dust. When large bodies reside in dynamically stagnant locations -- unable themselves…
Metal-polluted white dwarfs (DZ stars) are characterized by a helium-rich atmosphere contaminated by heavy elements traces originating from accreted rocky planetesimals. As a detailed spectroscopic analysis of those objects can reveal the…