Related papers: White Dwarf cooling Sequences, II: luminosity func…
The white dwarf luminosity function, which provides information about their cooling, has been measured with high precision in the past few years. Simulations that include well known Standard Model physics give a good fit to the data. This…
In this paper we compute detailed evolutionary models providing chemical profiles for white dwarfs having progenitors in the mass range from 1.0 to $7 M_{\sun}$ and we examine the influence of such profiles in the cooling process. The…
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 evolutionary calculations and colors for massive white dwarfs with oxygen-neon cores for masses between 1.06 and 1.28 Mo. The evolutionary stages computed cover the luminosity range from log(L/Lo) approx. 0.5 down to -5.2. Our…
We present the first detailed photometric and spectroscopic study of the white dwarfs (WDs) in the field of the ~225 Myr old (log tau_cl = 8.35) open cluster NGC 1039 (M34) as part of the ongoing Lick-Arizona White Dwarf Survey. Using…
We present a substantial update to the MESA Isochrones and Stellar Tracks (MIST) library, extending the MIST model grids and isochrones down the white dwarf (WD) cooling sequence with realistic physics for WD cooling timescales. This work…
We present follow-up spectroscopy and a detailed model atmosphere analysis of 29 wide double white dwarfs, including eight systems with a crystallized C/O core member. We use state-of-the-art evolutionary models to constrain the physical…
We summarize recent improvements in model atmosphere and internal structure of faint white dwarfs. We derive an analytical cooling theory which illustrates the effects of various physical processes on the energy budget and the cooling…
Recent measurements made by Hipparcos (Provencal et al. 1998) present observational evidence supporting the existence of some white dwarf (WD) stars with iron - rich, core composition. In this connection, the present paper is aimed at…
Currently there are two main techniques for independently determining the ages of stellar populations: main sequence evolution theory (via cluster isochrones) and white dwarf cooling theory. Open clusters provide the ideal environment for…
We describe a new multi-colour proper motion survey for cool white dwarfs (CWDs). The observational database consists of ~300 digitally scanned Schmidt plates in ESO/SERC field 287. The entire survey procedure, from the raw Schmidt plate…
We present a study of the white dwarf (WD) cooling sequence (CS) in the globular cluster (GC) Omega Centauri, the primary goal of a dedicated Hubble Space Telescope (HST) programme. Our analysis has revealed that the peak at the termination…
We present the results of a deep Hubble Space Telescope (HST) exposure of the nearby globular cluster NGC6397, focussing attention on the cluster's white dwarf cooling sequence. This sequence is shown to extend over 5 magnitudes in depth,…
NGC 6791 is a well-studied, metal-rich open cluster that is so close to us that can be imaged down to luminosities fainter than that of the termination of its white dwarf cooling sequence, thus allowing for an in-depth study of its white…
A number of so-called ultra-cool white dwarfs have been detected in different surveys so far. However, based on anecdotal evidence it is believed that most or all of these ultra-cool white dwarfs are low-mass products of binary evolution…
We present a study of the white dwarf (WD) cooling sequence of the globular cluster 47 Tucanae (47 Tuc or NGC 104) using deep infrared observations with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). By combining these data with ultra-deep optical…
Recently, the power of Gaia data has revealed an enhancement of high-mass white dwarfs (WDs) on the Hertzsprung--Russell diagram, called the Q branch. This branch is located at the high-mass end of the recently identified crystallization…
We present deep and precise photometry (F435, F625W, F658N) of Omega Cen collected with the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) on board the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). We have identified ~ 6,500 white dwarf (WD) candidates, and the ratio…
Within the theoretical framework of some modern unification theories the constants of nature are functions of cosmological time. White dwarfs offer the possibility of testing a possible variation of G and, thus, to place constraints to…
The white dwarf luminosity function is well understood in terms of standard model physics and leaves little room for exotic cooling mechanisms related to the possible existence of new weakly interacting light particles. This puts…