Related papers: Probing the core and envelope structure of DBV whi…
Hot subdwarf stars of spectral type B (sdBs) are evolved, core helium-burning objects. The formation of those objects is puzzling, because the progenitor star has to lose almost its entire hydrogen envelope in the red-giant phase. Binary…
We have found that at least seven hydrogen-deficient carbon (HdC) and R Coronae Borealis (RCB) stars, have 16O/18O ratios close to and in some cases less than unity, values that are orders of magnitude lower than measured in other stars…
The presence of a dark matter core in the central kiloparsec of many dwarf galaxies has been a long standing problem in galaxy formation theories based on the standard cold dark matter paradigm. Recent cosmological simulations, based on…
In the standard Lambda cold dark matter paradigm, pure dark matter simulations predict dwarf galaxies should inhabit dark matter haloes with a centrally diverging density `cusp'. This is in conflict with observations that typically favour a…
We employed recently computed evolutionary white-dwarf models with helium cores, supplemented by heavier models with carbon-oxygen cores, in order to investigate the ages of millisecond pulsar systems based on the cooling properties of the…
We report on Keck and {\em Hubble Space Telescope} observations of the binary millisecond pulsar PSR B1855+09. We detect its white-dwarf companion and measure $\mv=25.90\pm0.12$ and $\mi=24.19\pm0.11$ (Vega system). From the…
We propose an analytic model, CuspCore II, for the response of dark matter (DM) haloes to central gas ejection, as a mechanism for generating DM-deficient cores in dwarfs and high-z massive galaxies. We test this model and three other…
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…
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…
Common envelope evolution (CEE) physics plays a fundamental role in the formation of binary systems, such as mergering stellar gravitational wave sources, pulsar binaries and type Ia supernovae. A precisely constrained CEE has become more…
We carried out a spectroscopic investigation of single lined white dwarfs (WDs) in double degenerate (DD) systems and discuss their binary evolution. Simulated spectra of the Halpha region are used to derive upper limits on the temperature…
White dwarfs which exhibit transit signatures of planetary debris and accreted planetary material provide exceptional opportunities to probe the material composition and dynamical structure of planetary systems. Although previous…
The photospheres of the coolest helium-atmosphere white dwarfs are characterized by fluid-like densities. Under those conditions, standard approximations used in model atmosphere codes are no longer appropriate. Unfortunately, the majority…
The study of how neutron stars cool over time can provide invaluable insights into fundamental physics such as the nuclear equation of state and superconductivity and superfluidity. A critical relation in neutron star cooling is the one…
Hot subdwarf variables (sdBVs) that display large-amplitude ($>$1%), short-period variability, as a result of radial-mode pulsations, have recently become objects of interest as they show unique properties among the sdBV classes. Since the…
GD1400AB was one of the first known white dwarf$+$brown dwarf binaries, and is the only one of these systems where the white dwarf is a ZZ Ceti pulsator. Here we present both radial velocity measurements and time series photometry,…
Recently, a class of Roche-lobe-filling binary systems consisting of hot subdwarf stars and white dwarfs with sub-hour periods has been discovered. At present, the hot subdwarf is in a shell He burning phase and is transferring some of its…
I review detached binaries consisting of white dwarfs with either other white dwarfs or low mass main-sequence stars in tight orbits around them. Orbital periods have been measured for 15 white dwarf/white dwarf systems and 22 white dwarf/M…
Ultra-massive white dwarfs are relevant for their role as type Ia Supernova progenitors, the occurrence of physical processes in the asymptotic giant-branch phase, the existence of high-field magnetic white dwarfs, and the occurrence of…
Using images from the Hubble Space Telescope Advanced Camera for Surveys, we measure the rate of cooling of white dwarfs in the globular cluster 47 Tucanae and compare it to modelled cooling curves. We examine the effects of the outer…