1,753 research outputs found
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
A Tidally-Disrupted Asteroid Around the White Dwarf G29-38
The infrared excess around the white dwarf G29-38 can be explained by
emission from an opaque flat ring of dust with an inner radius 0.14 of the
radius of the Sun and an outer radius approximately equal to the Sun's. This
ring lies within the Roche region of the white dwarf where an asteroid could
have been tidally destroyed, producing a system reminiscent of Saturn's rings.
Accretion onto the white dwarf from this circumstellar dust can explain the
observed calcium abundance in the atmosphere of G29-38. Either as a bombardment
by a series of asteroids or because of one large disruption, the total amount
of matter accreted onto the white dwarf may have been comparable to the total
mass of asteroids in the Solar System, or, equivalently, about 1% of the mass
in the asteroid belt around the main sequence star zeta Lep.Comment: ApJ Letters, in pres
The Ultramassive White Dwarf EUVE J1746-706
We have obtained new optical and extreme ultraviolet (EUV) spectroscopy of
the ultramassive white dwarf EUVE J1746-706. We revise Vennes et al.'s (1996a,
ApJ, 467, 784) original estimates of the atmospheric parameters and we measure
an effective temperature of 46,500 +/- 700 K and a surface gravity log g = 9.05
+/- 0.15 (~1.2 M_o), in agreement with Balmer line profiles and the EUV
continuum. We derive an upper limit on the atmospheric abundance of helium of
He/H = 1.3 x 10^{-4} and a neutral hydrogen column density in the local
interstellar medium N_HI = 1.8 +/- 0.4 x 10^{19} cm^{-2} from the EUV spectrum.
Our upper limit corresponds to half the helium abundance observed in the
atmosphere of the ultramassive white dwarf GD 50. We discuss the possibility
that EUVE J1746-706 represents an earlier phase of evolution relative to GD 50
and may, therefore, help us understand the origin and evolution of massive
white dwarfs.Comment: 6 pages, 4 postscript figures, uses aastex, to be published in ApJ
Letter
The cool end of the DZ sequence in the SDSS
We report the discovery of cool DZ white dwarfs, which lie in the SDSS (u-g)
vs. (g-r) two-color diagram across and below the main sequence. These stars
represent the extension of the well-known DZ sequence towards cooler
temperatures.Comment: To appear in the proceedings of the "17th European Workshop on White
Dwarfs", Tuebingen, Germany, August 16-20, 201
Determination of S17(0) from published data
The experimental landscape for the 7Be+p radiative capture reaction is
rapidly changing as new high precision data become available. We present an
evaluation of existing data, detailing the treatment of systematic errors and
discrepancies, and show how they constrain the astrophysical S factor (S17),
independent of any nuclear structure model. With theoretical models robustly
determining the behavior of the sub-threshold pole, the extrapolation error can
be reduced and a constraint placed on the slope of S17. Using only radiative
capture data, we find S17(0) = 20.7 +/- 0.6 (stat) +/- 1.0 (syst) eV b if data
sets are completely independent, while if data sets are completely correlated
we find S17(0) = 21.4 +/- 0.5 (stat) +/- 1.4 (syst) eV b. The truth likely lies
somewhere in between these two limits. Although we employ a formalism capable
of treating discrepant data, we note that the central value of the S factor is
dominated by the recent high precision data of Junghans et al., which imply a
substantially higher value than other radiative capture and indirect
measurements. Therefore we conclude that further progress will require new high
precision data with a detailed error budget.Comment: 10 pages, 1 figure published versio
New Insights into the Problem of the Surface Gravity Distribution of Cool DA White Dwarfs
We review at length the longstanding problem in the spectroscopic analysis of
cool hydrogen-line (DA) white dwarfs (Teff < 13,000 K) where gravities are
significantly higher than those found in hotter DA stars. The first solution
that has been proposed for this problem is a mild and systematic helium
contamination from convective mixing that would mimic the high gravities. We
constrain this scenario by determining the helium abundances in six cool DA
white dwarfs using high-resolution spectra from the Keck I 10-m telescope. We
obtain no detections, with upper limits as low as He/H = 0.04 in some cases.
This allows us to put this scenario to rest for good. We also extend our model
grid to lower temperatures using improved Stark profiles with non-ideal gas
effects from Tremblay & Bergeron and find that the gravity distribution of cool
objects remains suspiciously high. Finally, we find that photometric masses
are, on average, in agreement with expected values, and that the high-log g
problem is so far unique to the spectroscopic approach.Comment: 44 pages, 14 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical
Journa
On the Spectral Evolution of Cool, Helium-Atmosphere White Dwarfs: Detailed Spectroscopic and Photometric Analysis of DZ Stars
We present a detailed analysis of a large spectroscopic and photometric
sample of DZ white dwarfs based on our latest model atmosphere calculations. We
revise the atmospheric parameters of the trigonometric parallax sample of
Bergeron, Leggett, & Ruiz (12 stars) and analyze 147 new DZ white dwarfs
discovered in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. The inclusion of metals and
hydrogen in our model atmosphere calculations leads to different atmospheric
parameters than those derived from pure helium models. Calcium abundances are
found in the range from log (Ca/He) = -12 to -8. We also find that fits of the
coolest objects show peculiarities, suggesting that our physical models may not
correctly describe the conditions of high atmospheric pressure encountered in
the coolest DZ stars. We find that the mean mass of the 11 DZ stars with
trigonometric parallaxes, = 0.63 Mo, is significantly lower than that
obtained from pure helium models, = 0.78 Mo, and in much better agreement
with the mean mass of other types of white dwarfs. We determine hydrogen
abundances for 27% of the DZ stars in our sample, while only upper limits are
obtained for objects with low signal-to-noise ratio spectroscopic data. We
confirm with a high level of confidence that the accretion rate of hydrogen is
at least two orders of magnitude smaller than that of metals (and up to five in
some cases) to be compatible with the observations. We find a correlation
between the hydrogen abundance and the effective temperature, suggesting for
the first time empirical evidence of a lower temperature boundary for the
hydrogen screening mechanism. Finally, we speculate on the possibility that the
DZA white dwarfs could be the result of the convective mixing of thin
hydrogen-rich atmospheres with the underlying helium convection zone.Comment: 67 pages, 32 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
FUSE observations of G226-29: First detection of the H_2 quasi-molecular satellite at 1150A
We present new FUV observations of the pulsating DA white dwarf G226-29
obtained with the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE). This ZZ Ceti
star is the brightest one of its class and the coolest white dwarf observed by
FUSE. We report the first detection of the broad quasi-molecular
collision-induced satellite of Ly-beta at 1150 A, an absorption feature that is
due to transitions which take place during close collisions of hydrogen atoms.
The physical interpretation of this feature is based on recent progress of the
line broadening theory of the far wing of Ly-beta. This predicted feature had
never been observed before, even in laboratory spectra.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ Letters; 6 pages, 3 figure
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