2,652 research outputs found
Parameter-free Stark Broadening of Hydrogen Lines in DA White Dwarfs
We present new calculations for the Stark broadening of the hydrogen line
profiles in the dense atmospheres of white dwarf stars. Our improved model is
based on the unified theory of Stark broadening from Vidal, Cooper & Smith, but
it also includes non-ideal gas effects from the Hummer & Mihalas occupation
probability formalism directly inside the line profile calculations. This
approach improves upon previous calculations that relied on the use of an
ad-hoc free parameter to describe the dissolution of the line wing opacity in
the presence of high electric microfields in the plasma. We present here the
first grid of model spectra for hot Teff >~ 12,000 K DA white dwarfs that has
no free parameters. The atmospheric parameters obtained from optical and UV
spectroscopic observations using these improved models are shown to differ
substantially from those published in previous studies.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figures, to appear in Journal of Physics Conference
Proceedings for the 16th European White Dwarf Worksho
Damped Lyman Alpha Systems at z<1.65: The Expanded SDSS HST Sample
We present results of our HST Cycle 11 Survey for low-redshift (z<1.65) DLAs
in the UV spectra of quasars selected from the SDSS Early Data Release. These
quasars have strong intervening MgII-FeII systems which are known signatures of
high column density neutral gas. In total, UV observations of Ly-alpha
absorption in 197 MgII systems with z<1.65 and rest equivalent width (REW)
W2796 \ge 0.3A have now been obtained. The main results are: (1) 36(+/- 6)% of
systems with W2796 \ge 0.5 A and FeII W2600 \ge 0.5 A are DLAs. This increases
to 42(+/- 7)% for systems with W2796/W2600 0.1 A. (2) The
mean N(HI) of MgII systems with 0.3 A \le W2796 < 0.6 A is a factor of ~36
lower than that of systems with W2796 \ge 0.6 A. (3) The DLA incidence per unit
redshift is consistent with no evolution for z <~ 2 (Omega_L=0.7, Omega_M =
0.3), but exhibits significant evolution for z >~ 2. (4) Omega_{DLA} is
constant for 0.5<z<5.0 to within the uncertainties. This is larger than
Omega_{gas}(z=0) by a factor of ~2. (5) The slope of the N(HI) distribution
does not change significantly with redshift. However, the low redshift
distribution is marginally flatter due to the higher fraction of high N(HI)
systems in our sample. (6) Finally, using the precision of MgII survey
statistics, we find that there may be evidence of a decreasing Omega_{DLA} from
z=0.5 to z=0. We reiterate the conclusion of Hopkins, Rao, & Turnshek that very
high columns of neutral gas might be missed by DLA surveys because of their
very small cross sections, and therefore, that Omega_{DLA} might not include
the bulk of the neutral gas mass in the Universe. (Abridged)Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ. 22 pages, 22 figure
White Dwarfs In Ngc6397 And M4: Constraints On The Physics Of Crystallization
We explore the physics of crystallization in the dense Coulomb plasma of the deep interiors of white dwarf stars using the color-magnitude diagram and luminosity function constructed from Hubble Space Telescope photometry of the globular cluster M 4 and compare it with our results for proper motion cleaned Hubble Space Telescope photometry of the globular cluster NGC 6397. We demonstrate that the data are consistent with a binary mixture of carbon and oxygen crystallizing at a value of Gamma higher than the theoretical value for a One Component Plasma (OCP). We show that this result is in line with the latest Molecular Dynamics simulations for binary mixtures of C/O. We discuss implications for future work.Astronom
The Ratio of Helium- to Hydrogen-Atmosphere White Dwarfs: Direct Evidence for Convective Mixing
We determine the ratio of helium- to hydrogen-atmosphere white dwarf stars as
a function of effective temperature from a model atmosphere analysis of the
infrared photometric data from the Two Micron All Sky Survey combined with
available visual magnitudes. Our study surpasses any previous analysis of this
kind both in terms of the accuracy of the Teff determinations as well as the
size of the sample. We observe that the ratio of helium- to hydrogen-atmosphere
white dwarfs increases gradually from a constant value of ~0.25 between Teff =
15,000 K and 10,000 K to a value twice as large in the range 10,000 > Teff >
8000 K, suggesting that convective mixing, which occurs when the bottom of the
hydrogen convection zone reaches the underlying convective helium envelope, is
responsible for this gradual transition. The comparison of our results with an
approximate model used to describe the outcome of this convective mixing
process implies hydrogen mass layers in the range log M_H/M_tot = -10 to -8 for
about 15% of the DA stars that survived the DA to DB transition near Teff ~
30,000 K, the remainder having presumably more massive layers above log
M_H/M_tot ~ -6.Comment: 30 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical
Journa
Splash control of drop impacts with geometric targets
Drop impacts on solid and liquid surfaces exhibit complex dynamics due to the
competition of inertial, viscous, and capillary forces. After impact, a liquid
lamella develops and expands radially, and under certain conditions, the outer
rim breaks up into an irregular arrangement of filaments and secondary
droplets. We show experimentally that the lamella expansion and subsequent
break up of the outer rim can be controlled by length scales that are of
comparable dimension to the impacting drop diameter. Under identical impact
parameters, ie. fluid properties and impact velocity, we observe unique
splashing dynamics by varying the target cross-sectional geometry. These
behaviors include: (i) geometrically-shaped lamellae and (ii) a transition in
splashing stability, from regular to irregular splashing. We propose that
regular splashes are controlled by the azimuthal perturbations imposed by the
target cross-sectional geometry and that irregular splashes are governed by the
fastest-growing unstable Plateau-Rayleigh mode
A GALEX view of the DA White Dwarf Population
We present a detailed model atmosphere analysis of 14001 DA white dwarfs from
the Montreal White Dwarf Database with ultraviolet photometry from the GALEX
mission. We use the 100 pc sample, where the extinction is negligible, to
demonstrate that there are no major systematic differences between the best-fit
parameters derived from optical only data and the optical + UV photometry.
GALEX FUV and NUV data improve the statistical errors in the model fits,
especially for the hotter white dwarfs with spectral energy distributions that
peak in the UV. Fitting the UV to optical spectral energy distributions also
reveals UV-excess or UV-deficit objects. We use two different methods to
identify outliers in our model fits. Known outliers include objects with
unusual atmospheric compositions, strongly magnetic white dwarfs, and binary
white dwarfs, including double degenerates and white dwarf + main-sequence
systems. We present a list of 89 newly identified outliers based on GALEX UV
data; follow-up observations of these objects will be required to constrain
their nature. Several current and upcoming large scale spectroscopic surveys
are targeting white dwarfs. In addition, the ULTRASAT mission is
planning an all-sky survey in the NUV band. A combination of the UV data from
GALEX and ULTRASAT and optical data on these large samples of spectroscopically
confirmed DA white dwarfs will provide an excellent opportunity to identify
unusual white dwarfs in the solar neighborhood
A comparative analysis of the observed white dwarf cooling sequence from globular clusters
We report our study of features at the observed red end of the white dwarf
cooling sequences for three Galactic globular clusters: NGC\,6397, 47\,Tucanae
and M\,4. We use deep colour-magnitude diagrams constructed from archival
Hubble Space Telescope (ACS) to systematically investigate the blue turn at
faint magnitudes and the age determinations for each cluster. We find that the
age difference between NGC\,6397 and 47\,Tuc is 1.98\,Gyr,
consistent with the picture that metal-rich halo clusters were formed later
than metal-poor halo clusters. We self-consistently include the effect of
metallicity on the progenitor age and the initial-to-final mass relation. In
contrast with previous investigations that invoked a single white dwarf mass
for each cluster, the data shows a spread of white dwarf masses that better
reproduce the shape and location of the blue turn. This effect alone, however,
does not completely reproduce the observational data - the blue turn retains
some mystery. In this context, we discuss several other potential problems in
the models. These include possible partial mixing of H and He in the atmosphere
of white dwarf stars, the lack of a good physical description of the
collision-induced absorption process and uncertainties in the opacities at low
temperatures. The latter are already known to be significant in the description
of the cool main sequence. Additionally, we find that the present day local
mass function of NGC\,6397 is consistent with a top-heavy type, while 47\,Tuc
presents a bottom-heavy profile.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS (16 pages, 19 figures
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