Related papers: Stellar Forensics I: Cooling Curves
Eclipsing binary stars provide highly accurate measurements of the fundamental physical properties of stars. They therefore serve as stringent tests of the predictions of evolutionary models upon which most stellar age determinations are…
Using a new grid of models of cooling white dwarfs, we calculate isochrones and luminosity functions in the Johnson-Kron/Cousins and HST filter sets for systems containing old white dwarfs. These new models incorporate a non-grey atmosphere…
The rotation rate, level of magnetic activity and surface lithium abundance are age-dependent quantities in stars of about a solar mass and below. The physical reasons for the evolution of these phenomena are qualitatively understood, but…
The measured characteristics of binary pulsars provide valuable insights into the evolution of these systems. We study the aspects of binary evolution particularly relevant to binary Millisecond Pulsars (MSPs), and the formation of close…
We present FUSE H Lyman series spectroscopy of the hot white dwarf companion to the 4th magnitude A1III star Beta Crateris, which shows that is has an unusually low mass, 0.43Msun, and has almost certainly evolved through binary…
In radiative layers of rotating stars the luminosity carried by circulation currents through a surface of constant entropy (circulation luminosity) is shown to be positive. The corresponding decrease in the temperature gradient is important…
Binaries harbouring millisecond pulsars enable a unique path to determine neutron star masses: radio pulsations reveal the motion of the neutron star, while that of the companion can be characterised through studies in the optical range.…
Deriving precise stellar ages is a challenging task. Consequently, age-dependent relations - such as the age-metallicity and age-velocity dispersion relations of the Milky Way, or the age-rotation-activity relation of low-mass stars - are…
Low-mass ($M_{\star}/M_{\sun} \lesssim 0.45$) white dwarfs, including the so called extremely low-mass white dwarfs (ELM, $M_{\star}/M_{\sun } \lesssim 0.18-0.20$), are being currently discovered in the field of our Galaxy through dedicated…
White Dwarf luminosities are powerful age indicators, whose calibration should be based on reliable models. We discuss the uncertainty of some chemical and physical parameters and their influence on the age estimated by means of white dwarf…
Mass, radius, and age are three of the most fundamental parameters for celestial objects, enabling studies of the evolution and internal physics of stars, brown dwarfs, and planets. Brown dwarfs are hydrogen-rich objects that are unable to…
Double white dwarf (WD) binaries are increasingly being discovered at short orbital periods where strong tidal effects and significant tidal heating signatures may occur. We assume the tidal potential of the companion excites outgoing…
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…
A 0.242 Msun object that finally becomes a helium white dwarf is evolved from Roche lobe detachment down to very low luminosities. In doing so, we employ our stellar code to which we have added a set of routines that compute the effects due…
We derive a new age for the Gamma^2 Velorum binary by comparing recent observations to our set of binary models. We find that it is very unlikely the stars have not interacted, which implies that previous estimates of the age from…
We report the detection of the likely companion of the binary millisecond pulsar J0740+6620 with the Gran Telescopio Canarias in the $r'$ and $i'$ bands. The position of the detected starlike source coincides with the pulsar coordinates…
2MASS J03202839-0446358AB is a recently identified, late-type M dwarf/T dwarf spectroscopic binary system for which both the radial velocity orbit for the primary and spectral types for both components have been determined. By combining…
Helium white dwarfs (He WDs) are end products of low-mass red giant donors in close binary systems via stable mass transfer or common envelope evolution. At the end of stable mass transfer, there is a well-known relation between the He WD…
We consider a model for the cyclic brightness variations of a young star with a low-mass companion that accretes matter from the remnants of a protostellar cloud. At small inclinations of the binary orbit to the line of sight, the streams…
We construct a set of binary evolutionary sequences for systems composed by a normal, solar composition, donor star together with a neutron star. We consider a variety of masses for each star as well as for the initial orbital period…