Related papers: Observations of Ultracool White Dwarfs
A detailed analysis of the very cool white dwarfs SDSS 1337+00 and LHS 3250 is presented. Model atmosphere calculations with improved collision-induced absorptions by molecular hydrogen indicate that a pure hydrogen composition can be ruled…
Microlensing events observed in the line of sight toward the LMC indicate that a significant fraction of the mass of the dark halo of the Galaxy is probably composed of white dwarfs. In addition, white dwarf sequences have now be observed…
The extreme helium-rich atmospheric composition determined for the halo white dwarf WD 0346+246 is reexamined. This solution is shown to be improbable from an astrophysical point of view when accretion of hydrogen and metals from the…
Early data taken during commissioning of the SDSS have resulted in the discovery of a very cool white dwarf. It appears to have stronger collision induced absorption from molecular hydrogen than any other known white dwarf, suggesting it…
The star LHS 3250 is found to be a white dwarf at a distance of 30 pc. Its absolute magnitudes (M_V = 15.72; M_bol = 16.2) put it among the least-luminous white dwarfs known. Its optical spectrum shows no features, indicating it has a DC…
A photometric and spectroscopic analysis of 152 cool white dwarf stars is presented. The discovery of 7 new DA white dwarfs, 2 new DQ white dwarfs, 1 new magnetic white dwarf, and 3 weak magnetic white dwarf candidates, is reported, as well…
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 present optical spectroscopy and near-infrared photometry of 57 faint ($g= 19-22$) high proper motion white dwarfs identified through repeat imaging of $\approx3100$ square degrees of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey footprint by Munn et al.…
We report the discovery of five very cool white dwarfs in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). Four are ultracool, exhibiting strong collision induced absorption (CIA) from molecular hydrogen and are similar in color to the three previously…
Ultra-cool white dwarfs are among the oldest stellar remnants in the Universe. Their efficient gravitational settling and low effective temperatures are responsible for the smooth spectra they exhibit. For that reason, it is not possible to…
As a result of competing physical mechanisms, the atmospheric composition of white dwarfs changes throughout their evolution, a process known as spectral evolution. Because of the ambiguity of their atmospheric compositions and the…
A detailed analysis of halo white dwarf candidates is presented, which is based on model atmosphere fits to observed energy distributions built from photoelectric or photographic magnitudes. Most of the candidates identified in reduced…
With the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph onboard the Hubble Space Telescope, we have detected molecular hydrogen in the atmospheres of three white dwarfs with effective temperatures below 14,000 K, G29-38, GD 133 and GD 31. This discovery…
Reliable modeling of the atmospheres of cool white dwarfs is crucial for understanding the atmospheric evolution of these stars and for accurate white dwarfs cosmochronology. Over the last decade {\it ab initio} modeling entered many…
We present a spectro-photometric analysis of 2880 cool white dwarfs within 100 pc of the Sun and cooler than Teff = 10,000 K, with grizy Pan-STARRS photometry and Gaia trigonometric parallaxes available. We also supplement our data sets…
A preliminary $BVRIJHK$ analysis of the white dwarfs SSSPM J2231$-$7514 and SSSPM J2231$-$7515 is presented. Although both stars were reported to have $T_{\rm eff}<4000$ K, the analysis here indicates $T_{\rm eff}\approx4250$ K for both…
We present a detailed model atmosphere analysis of two of the oldest stars known in the solar neighborhood, the high proper motion white dwarfs SDSS J110217.48+411315.4 (hereafter J1102) and WD 0346+246 (hereafter WD0346). We present…
We report the discovery of three nearby old halo white dwarf candidates in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), including two stars in a common proper motion binary system. These candidates are selected from our 2800 square degree proper…
The atmospheres of cool, helium-rich white dwarfs constitute an exotic and poorly explored physical regime of stellar atmospheres. Under physical conditions where the temperature varies from $\rm 1000K$ to $\rm 10000K$, the density can…
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…