Related papers: Stellar Forensics I: Cooling Curves
We use the grid of models described in paper~I to analyse those millisecond pulsar binaries whose secondaries have been studied optically. In particular, we find cooling ages for these binary systems that range from $< 1 \rm Gyr$ to $\sim…
Optical observations of the companions of pulsars can help determine the properties of the binaries, as well as those of their components, and give clues to the preceding evolution. In this review, we first describe the different classes of…
We present a grid of evolutionary tracks for low-mass white dwarfs with helium cores in the mass range from 0.179 to 0.414 M_sun. The lower mass limit is well suited for comparison with white dwarf companions of millisecond pulsars (MSP).…
We employed recently computed evolutionary white-dwarf models with helium cores, supplemented by heavier models with carbon-oxygen cores, in order to investigate the ages of millisecond pulsar systems based on the cooling properties of the…
Low mass white dwarfs are the remnants of disrupted red giant stars in binary millisecond pulsars and other exotic binary star systems. Some low mass white dwarfs cool rapidly, while others stay bright for millions of years due to stable…
We present a grid of evolutionary tracks for low-mass white dwarfs with helium cores in the mass range from 0.179 to 0.414 Msol. The lower mass limit is well-suited for comparison with white dwarf companions of millisecond pulsars. The…
We present a detailed calculation of the evolution of low-mass ($< 0.25~M_\odot $) helium white dwarfs. These white dwarfs (the optical companions to binary millisecond pulsars) are formed via long-term, low-mass binary evolution. After…
The purpose of this work is to explore the evolution of helium-core white dwarf stars in a self-consistent way with the predictions of detailed non-gray model atmospheres and element diffusion. To this end, we consider helium-core white…
We present seven evolutionary tracks for low-mass white dwarfs with helium cores, ranging in mass from 0.179 to 0.414 Msol. We generated the pre-white dwarf models from a 1 Msol sequence extending up to the tip of its red-giant branch by…
We provide a fine and homogeneous grid of evolutionary sequences for He-core white dwarfs with masses 0.15-0.45 Msun, including the mass range for ELM white dwarfs (<0.20Msun). The grid is appropriate for mass and age determination, and to…
We present detailed evolutionary calculations for carbon - oxygen - and helium - core white dwarf (WD) models with masses ranging from M= 0.1 to M= 1.2 solar masses and for metallicities Z= 0.001 and Z= 0. The sequences cover a wide range…
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…
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…
Using the SDSS and Pan-STARRS1 survey data, we found a likely companion of the recently discovered binary $\gamma$-ray radio-loud millisecond pulsar J0621+2514. Its visual brightness is about 22 mag. The broad band magnitudes and colours…
We re-examine the properties of the high-velocity and extremely low mass white dwarf LP 400-22 and its close companion. Based on an extended observation timeline we determined a binary period of P= 1.01016 d, somewhat longer than the…
We derive the effective temperatures and gravities of 461 OB stars in 19 young clusters by fitting the H-gamma profile in their spectra. We use synthetic model profiles for rotating stars to develop a method to estimate the polar gravity…
Two of the possibilities for the formation of low-mass ($M_{\star}\lesssim 0.5\,M_{\odot}$) hydrogen-deficient white dwarfs are the occurrence of a very-late thermal pulse after the asymptotic giant-branch phase or a late helium-flash onset…
Many physically motivated extensions to general relativity (GR) predict significant deviations in the properties of spacetime surrounding massive neutron stars. We report the measurement of a 2.01 +/- 0.04 solar mass pulsar in a 2.46-hr…
The evolution of low mass (M < 2.5 Msun) binaries through the common envelope phase has been studied for systems in which one member is on its first ascent of the red giant branch. Three-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations have been…
The Procyon AB binary system (orbital period 40.838 years, a newly-refined determination), is near and bright enough that the component radii, effective temperatures, and luminosities are very well determined, although more than one…