From Young and Hot to Old and Cold: Comparing White Dwarf Cooling Theory to Main Sequence Stellar Evolution in Open Clusters

I explore the current ability of both white dwarf cooling theory and main sequence stellar evolution theory to accurately determine stellar population ages by comparing ages derived using both techniques for open clusters ranging from 0.1 to 4 Gyr. I find good agreement between white dwarf and main sequence evolutionary ages over the entire age range currently available for study. I also find that directly comparing main sequence turn-off ages to white dwarf ages is only weakly sensitive to realistic levels of errors in cluster distance, metallicity, and reddening. Additional detailed comparisons between white dwarf and main sequence ages have tremendous potential to refine and calibrate both of these important clocks, and I present new simulations of promising open cluster targets. The most demanding requirement for these white dwarf studies are very deep (V > 25-28) cluster observations made necessary by the faintness of the oldest white dwarfs.Comment: 25 pages, incl. 10 figures, ApJ accepted for April, 200

New Techniques to Determine Ages of Open Clusters Using White Dwarfs

Currently there are two main techniques for independently determining the ages of stellar populations: main sequence evolution theory (via cluster isochrones) and white dwarf cooling theory. Open clusters provide the ideal environment for the calibration of these two clocks. Because current techniques to derive cluster ages from white dwarfs are observationally challenging, we discuss the feasibility of determining white dwarf ages from the brighter white dwarfs alone. This would eliminate the requirement of observing the coolest (i.e., faintest) white dwarfs. We discuss our method for testing this new idea, as well as the required photometric precision and prior constraints on metallicity, distance, and reddening. We employ a new Bayesian statistical technique to obtain and interpret results.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figures. accepted to Astrophysical Journa

The New Class of Dusty DAZ White Dwarfs

Our mid-infrared survey of 124 white dwarfs with the Spitzer Space Telescope and the IRAC imager has revealed an infrared excess associated with the white dwarf WD 2115-560 naturally explained by circumstellar dust. This object is the fourth white dwarf observed to have circumstellar dust. All four are DAZ white dwarfs, i.e. they have both photospheric Balmer lines and photospheric metal lines. We discuss these four objects as a class, which we abbreviate "DAZd", where the "d" stands for "dust". Using an optically-thick, geometrically-thin disk model analogous to Saturn's rings, we find that the inner disk edges are at >~0.1 to 0.2 Ro and that the outer disk edges are ~0.3 to 0.6 Ro. This model naturally explains the accretion rates and lifetimes of the detected WD disks and the accretion rates inferred from photospheric metal abundances.Comment: 27 pages, 7 figures, ApJ accepte

WIYN Open Cluster Study XI: WIYN 3.5m Deep Photometry of M35 (NGC 2168)

We present deep BVI observations of the core of M35 and a nearby comparison field obtained at the WIYN 3.5m telescope under excellent seeing. These observations display the lower main sequence in BV and VI CMDs down to V = 23.3 and 24.6, respectively. At these faint magnitudes background field stars are far more numerous than the cluster stars, yet by using a smoothing technique and CMD density distribution subtraction we recover the cluster fiducial main sequence and luminosity function to V = 24.6. We find the location of the main sequence in these CMDs to be consistent with earlier work on other open clusters, specifically NGC 188, NGC 2420, and NGC 2477. We compare these open cluster fiducial sequences to stellar models by Baraffe et al. (1998), Siess et al. (2000), Girardi et al. (2000), and Yi et al. (2001) and find that the models are too blue in both B-V and V-I for stars below ~0.4 Mo. M35 contains stars to the limit of the extracted main sequence, at M ~ 0.10-0.15 Mo, suggesting that M35 may harbor a large number of brown dwarfs, which should be easy targets for near-IR instrumentation on 8-10m telescopes. We also identify a new candidate white dwarf in M35 at V = 21.36 +- 0.01. Depending on which WD models are used to interpret this cluster candidate, it is either a very high mass WD (1.05 +- 0.05 Mo) somewhat older (0.19-0.26 Gyr, 3-4 sigma) than our best isochrone age (150 Myr), or it is a modestly massive WD (0.67-0.78 Mo) much too old (0.42-0.83 Gyr) to belong to the cluster.Comment: 28 pages + 24 figures; to be published in the Sept, 2002 A

Polarization Measurements of the Polluted White Dwarf G29-38

We have made high-precision polarimetric observations of the polluted white dwarf G29-38 with the HIgh Precision Polarimetric Instrument 2. The observations were made at two different observatories – using the 8.1-m Gemini North Telescope and the 3.9-m Anglo-Australian Telescope – and are consistent with each other. After allowing for a small amount of interstellar polarization, the intrinsic linear polarization of the system is found to be 275.3 ± 31.9 parts per million at a position angle of 90.8 ± 3.8◦ in the SDSS g band. We compare the observed polarization with the predictions of circumstellar disc models. The measured polarization is small in the context of the models we develop, which only allows us to place limits on disc inclination and Bond albedo for optically thin disc geometries. In this case, either the inclination is near-face-on or the albedo is small – likely in the range 0.05–0.15 – which is in line with other debris disc measurements. A preliminary search for the effects of G29-38’s pulsations in the polarization signal produced inconsistent results. This may be caused by beating effects, indicate a clumpy dust distribution, or be a consequence of measurement systematics

Contribution of White Dwarfs to Cluster Masses

I present a literature search through 31 July 1997 of white dwarfs (WDs) in open and globular clusters. There are 36 single WDs and 5 WDs in binaries known among 13 open clusters, and 340 single WDs and 11 WDs in binaries known among 11 globular clusters. From these data I have calculated WD mass fractions for four open clusters (the Pleiades, NGC 2168, NGC 3532, and the Hyades) and one globular cluster (NGC 6121). I develop a simple model of cluster evolution that incorporates stellar evolution but not dynamical evolution to interpret the WD mass fractions. I augment the results of my simple model with N-body simulations incorporating stellar evolution (Terlevich 1987; de la Feunte Marcos 1996; Vesperini & Heggie 1997). I find that even though these clusters undergo moderate to strong kinematical evolution the WD mass fraction is relatively insensitive to kinematical evolution. By comparing the cluster mass functions to that of the Galactic disk, and incorporating plausibility arguments for the mass function of the Galactic halo, I estimate the WD mass fraction in these two populations. I assume the Galactic disk is ~10 Gyrs old (Winget et al. 1987; Liebert, Dahn, & Monet 1988; Oswalt et al. 1996) and that the Galactic halo is ~12 Gyrs old (Reid 1997b; Gratton et al. 1997; Chaboyer et al. 1998), although the WD mass fraction is insensitive to age in this range. I find that the Galactic halo should contain 8 to 9% (alpha = -2.35) or perhaps as much as 15 to 17% (alpha = -2.0) of its stellar mass in the form of WDs. The Galactic disk WD mass fraction should be 6 to 7% (alpha = -2.35), consistent with the empirical estimates of 3 to 7% (Liebert, Dahn, & Monet 1988; Oswalt et al. 1996). (abridged)Comment: 20 pages, uuencoded gunzip'ed latex + 3 postscrip figures, to be published in AJ, April, 199

Polarization measurements of the polluted white dwarf G29-38

We have made high precision polarimetric observations of the polluted white dwarf G29-38 with the HIgh Precision Polarimetric Instrument 2. The observations were made at two different observatories -- using the 8.1-m Gemini North Telescope and the 3.9-m Anglo AustralianTelescope -- and are consistent with each other. After allowing for a small amount of interstellar polarization, the intrinsic linear polarization of the system is found to be 275.3 +/- 31.9 parts-per-million at a position angle of 90.8 +/- 3.8 degrees in the SDSS g' band. We compare the observed polarization with the predictions of circumstellar disc models. The measured polarization is small in the context of the models we develop which only allows us to place limits on disc inclination and Bond albedo for optically thin disc geometries. In this case either the inclination is near face-on or the albedo is small -- likely in the range 0.05 to 0.15 -- which is in line with other debris disc measurements. A preliminary search for the effects of G29-38's pulsations in the polarization signal produced inconsistent results. This may be caused by beating effects, indicate a clumpy dust distribution, or be a consequence of measurement systematics.Comment: 15 pages, 6 figures, 4 tables. Accepted to MNRA