Related papers: Cool white dwarfs : cooling theory and Galactic im…
Due to the short settling times of metals in DA white dwarf atmospheres, any white dwarfs with photospheric metals must be actively accreting. It is therefore natural to expect that the metals may not be deposited uniformly on the surface…
Metal pollution in white dwarf atmospheres is likely to be a signature of remnant planetary systems. Most explanations for this pollution predict a sharp decrease in the number of polluted systems with white dwarf cooling age. Observations…
We investigate the effects of element diffusion on the structure and evolution of low-mass helium white dwarfs (WD). Attention is focused on the occurrence of hydrogen shell flashes induced by diffusion processes during cooling phases.…
We assess the impact of the trace element ^{22}Ne on the cooling and seismology of a liquid C/O white dwarf (WD). Due to this elements' neutron excess, it sinks towards the interior as the liquid WD cools. The subsequent gravitational…
Observations of galactic white dwarfs with Gaia have allowed for unprecedented modeling of white dwarf cooling, resolving core crystallization and sedimentary heating from neutron rich nuclei. These cooling sequences are sensitive to the…
We investigate crystallization-driven convection in carbon-oxygen white dwarfs. We present a version of the mixing length theory (MLT) that self-consistently includes the effects of thermal diffusion and composition gradients, and provides…
The Milky Way Galaxy contains a large, spherical component which is believed to harbor a substantial amount of unseen matter. Recent observations indirectly suggest that as much as half of this ``dark matter'' may be in the form of old,…
We present a theoretical study on the metallicity dependence of the initial$-$to$-$final mass relation and its influence on white dwarf age determinations. We compute a grid of evolutionary sequences from the main sequence to $\sim 3\, 000$…
Low mass white dwarfs are the remnants of disrupted red giant stars in binary millisecond pulsars and other exotic binary star systems. Some low mass white dwarfs cool rapidly, while others stay bright for millions of years due to stable…
It has been recently suggested that white dwarfs generate magnetic fields in a process analogous to the Earth. The crystallization of the core creates a compositional inversion that drives convection, and combined with rotation, this can…
Although numerous white dwarf stars host dusty debris disks, the temperature distribution of these stars differs significantly from the white dwarf population as a whole. Dusty debris disks exist exclusively around white dwarfs cooler than…
Although it a very narrow angle survey, the depth of the HDF results in its sampling a significant volume of the halo of our galaxy. Thus it is useful for the purposes of detecting (or placing upper limits on the distribution of)…
The asteroseismic analysis of white dwarfs allows us to peer below their photospheres and determine their internal structure. At ~ 28,000 K EC20058-5234 is the hottest known pulsating helium atmosphere white dwarf. As such, it constitutes…
White dwarfs, the most abundant stellar remnants, provide a promising means of probing dark matter (DM) interactions, complimentary to terrestrial searches. The scattering of dark matter from stellar constituents leads to gravitational…
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,…
White Dwarfs (WD) capture Dark Matter (DM) as they orbit within their host halos. These captured particles may subsequently annihilate, heating the stellar core and preventing the WD from cooling. The potential wells of WDs are considerably…
In our galaxy, the white dwarfs (WDs) will inevitably capture the dark matter (DM) particles streaming through them, if there exist interactions between DM particles and nuclei/electrons. At the same time, these DM particles can also be…
We explore the impact of cosmic reionization on nearby isolated dwarf galaxies using a compilation of SFHs estimated from deep HST data and a cosmological hydrodynamical simulation of the Local Group. The nearby dwarfs show a wide diversity…
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…
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…