Download or read book A Detailed Model Atmosphere Analysis of Cool White Dwarfs in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey written by Mukremin Kilic and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 23 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We present optical spectroscopy and near-infrared photometry of 126 cool white dwarfs (WDs) in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). Our sample includes high proper motion targets selected using the SDSS and USNO-B astrometry and a dozen previously known ultracool WD candidates. Our optical spectroscopic observations demonstrate that a clean selection of large samples of cool WDs in the SDSS (and the SkyMapper, Pan-STARRS, and the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope data sets) is possible using a reduced proper motion diagram and a tangential velocity cut-off (depending on the proper motion accuracy) of 30 km s-1. Our near-infrared observations reveal eight new stars with significant absorption. We use the optical and near-infrared photometry to perform a detailed model atmosphere analysis. More than 80% of the stars in our sample are consistent with either pure hydrogen or pure helium atmospheres. However, the eight stars with significant infrared absorption and the majority of the previously known ultracool WD candidates are best explained with mixed hydrogen and helium atmosphere models. The age distribution of our sample is consistent with a Galactic disk age of 8 Gyr. A few ultracool WDs may be as old as 12-13 Gyr, but our models have problems matching the spectral energy distributions of these objects. There are only two halo WD candidates in our sample. However, trigonometric parallax observations are required for accurate mass and age determinations and to confirm their membership in the halo. Based on observations obtained at the Hobby-Eberly Telescope (HET), Gemini Observatory, and the Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF).
Download or read book A Hot White Dwarf Luminosity Function from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey written by Jurek Krzesiński and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 6 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Aims. We present a hot white dwarf (WD) luminosity function (LF) using data taken from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Data Release 4. We present and discuss a combined LF, along with separate DA and non-DA as LFs. We explore the completeness of our LFs and interpret a sudden drop in the non-DA LF near 2 M-bol as a transition of the non-DA WD atmosphere into the DA one during WD evolution. Our LF extends roughly between -0.5 M-bol 7 or equivalently, [around] 120 000 K T-eff '25 000 K. Our LF should now be useful for estimates of recent star formation and for studies of neutrino and other potential particle emission losses in hot WDs. Methods: To create a sample whose completeness can be characterized fully, we used stars whose spectra were obtained via the SDSS's 'hot standard' target selection criteria. The hot standard stars were purposefully targeted to a high level of completeness by the SDSS for calibration purposes. We are fortunate that many of them are hot white dwarfs stars. We further limited the sample to stars with fitted temperatures exceeding 23 500 K and log(g)> 7.0. We determined stellar distances for our sample based on their absolute SDSS g filter magnitudes, derived from WD stellar atmosphere model fits to the SDSS stellar spectra. Results: We compared our LF with those of other researchers where overlap occurs; however, our LFs are unique in their extension to the most luminous/hottest WDs. The cool end of our LF connects with the hot end of previously determined SDSS WD LFs and agreement here is quite good. It is also good with previous non-SDSS WD LFs. We note distinct differences between the DA and non-DA LFs and discuss the reliability of the DA LF at its hot end. We have extended the range of luminosities covered in the most recent WD LFs. The SDSS sample is understood quite well and its exploration should contribute to a number of new insights into early white dwarf evolution.
Download or read book 15th European Workshop on White Dwarfs written by Ralf Napiwotzki and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 718 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book White Dwarf Atmospheres and Circumstellar Environments written by Donald W. Hoard and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2012-09-19 with total page 342 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Written by selected astronomers at the forefront of their fields, this timely and novel book compiles the latest results from research on white dwarf stars, complementing existing literature by focusing on fascinating new developments in our understanding of the atmospheric and circumstellar environments of these stellar remnants. Complete with a thorough refresher on the observational characteristics and physical basis for white dwarf classification, this is a must-have resource for researchers interested in the late stages of stellar evolution, circumstellar dust and nebulae, and the future of our own Solar System.
Download or read book On the Spectral Evolution of Cool Helium Atmosphere White Dwarfs Detailed Spectroscopic and Photometric Analysis of DZ Stars written by and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 19 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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 SDSS. 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 is significantly lower than that obtained from pure helium models 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-S/N spectroscopic data. We confirm with a high level of confidence that the accretion rate of hydrogen is at least 2 orders of magnitude smaller than that of metals (and up to 5 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.
Download or read book New Worlds New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2011-02-04 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Driven by discoveries, and enabled by leaps in technology and imagination, our understanding of the universe has changed dramatically during the course of the last few decades. The fields of astronomy and astrophysics are making new connections to physics, chemistry, biology, and computer science. Based on a broad and comprehensive survey of scientific opportunities, infrastructure, and organization in a national and international context, New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics outlines a plan for ground- and space- based astronomy and astrophysics for the decade of the 2010's. Realizing these scientific opportunities is contingent upon maintaining and strengthening the foundations of the research enterprise including technological development, theory, computation and data handling, laboratory experiments, and human resources. New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics proposes enhancing innovative but moderate-cost programs in space and on the ground that will enable the community to respond rapidly and flexibly to new scientific discoveries. The book recommends beginning construction on survey telescopes in space and on the ground to investigate the nature of dark energy, as well as the next generation of large ground-based giant optical telescopes and a new class of space-based gravitational observatory to observe the merging of distant black holes and precisely test theories of gravity. New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics recommends a balanced and executable program that will support research surrounding the most profound questions about the cosmos. The discoveries ahead will facilitate the search for habitable planets, shed light on dark energy and dark matter, and aid our understanding of the history of the universe and how the earliest stars and galaxies formed. The book is a useful resource for agencies supporting the field of astronomy and astrophysics, the Congressional committees with jurisdiction over those agencies, the scientific community, and the public.
Download or read book Recueil factice d articles de presse concernant Heinrich Sch tz et Kurt Spanich written by and published by . This book was released on with total page 4 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Astrophysics in a Nutshell written by Dan Maoz and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2016-02-23 with total page 310 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The ideal one-semester astrophysics introduction for science undergraduates—now expanded and fully updated Winner of the American Astronomical Society's Chambliss Award, Astrophysics in a Nutshell has become the text of choice in astrophysics courses for science majors at top universities in North America and beyond. In this expanded and fully updated second edition, the book gets even better, with a new chapter on extrasolar planets; a greatly expanded chapter on the interstellar medium; fully updated facts and figures on all subjects, from the observed properties of white dwarfs to the latest results from precision cosmology; and additional instructive problem sets. Throughout, the text features the same focused, concise style and emphasis on physics intuition that have made the book a favorite of students and teachers. Written by Dan Maoz, a leading active researcher, and designed for advanced undergraduate science majors, Astrophysics in a Nutshell is a brief but thorough introduction to the observational data and theoretical concepts underlying modern astronomy. Generously illustrated, it covers the essentials of modern astrophysics, emphasizing the common physical principles that govern astronomical phenomena, and the interplay between theory and observation, while also introducing subjects at the forefront of modern research, including black holes, dark matter, dark energy, and gravitational lensing. In addition to serving as a course textbook, Astrophysics in a Nutshell is an ideal review for a qualifying exam and a handy reference for teachers and researchers. The most concise and current astrophysics textbook for science majors—now expanded and fully updated with the latest research results Contains a broad and well-balanced selection of traditional and current topics Uses simple, short, and clear derivations of physical results Trains students in the essential skills of order-of-magnitude analysis Features a new chapter on extrasolar planets, including discovery techniques Includes new and expanded sections and problems on the physics of shocks, supernova remnants, cosmic-ray acceleration, white dwarf properties, baryon acoustic oscillations, and more Contains instructive problem sets at the end of each chapter Solutions manual (available only to professors)
Download or read book White Dwarfs written by Domitilla de Martino and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 443 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop, held in Naples, Italy, 24-28 June 2002
Download or read book The Exoplanet Handbook written by Michael Perryman and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2018-08-30 with total page 973 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A complete and in-depth review of exoplanet research, covering the discovery methods, physics and theoretical background.
Download or read book A Nearby Old Halo White Dwarf Candidate from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey written by and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 8 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We report the discovery of a nearby old halo white dwarf (WD) candidate from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). SDSS J110217.48+411315.4 has a proper motion of 1'.75 yr-1 and redder optical colors than all other known featureless (type DC) WDs. We present SDSS imaging and spectroscopy of this object, along with near-infrared photometry obtained at the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope (UKIRT). Fitting its photometry with up-to-date model atmospheres, we find that its overall spectral energy distribution is fit reasonably well with a pure-hydrogen composition and Teff H 3800 K (assuming log g = 8). This temperature and gravity would place this WD at 35 pc from the Sun with a tangential velocity of 290 km s 1 and space velocities consistent with halo membership; furthermore, its combined main-sequence and WD cooling age would be H11 Gyr. However, if this object is a massive WD, it could be a younger object with a thick disk origin. Whatever its origin, the optical colors of this object are redder than predicted by any current pure-hydrogen, pure-helium, or mixed hydrogen helium atmospheric model, indicating that there remain problems in our understanding of the complicated physics of the dense atmospheres of cool WDs.
Download or read book The Discovery of Cosmic Voids written by Laird A. Thompson and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2020-12-10 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The large-scale structure of the Universe is dominated by vast voids with galaxies clustered in knots, sheets, and filaments, forming a great 'cosmic web'. In this personal account of the major astronomical developments leading to this discovery, we learn from Laird A. Thompson, a key protagonist, how the first 3D maps of galaxies were created. Using non-mathematical language, he introduces the standard model of cosmology before explaining how and why ideas about cosmic voids evolved, referencing the original maps, reproduced here. His account tells of the competing teams of observers, racing to publish their results, the theorists trying to build or update their models to explain them, and the subsequent large-scale survey efforts that continue to the present day. This is a well-documented account of the birth of a major pillar of modern cosmology, and a useful case study of the trials surrounding how this scientific discovery became accepted.
Download or read book An Introduction to Modern Cosmology written by Andrew Liddle and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2015-03-09 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An Introduction to Modern Cosmology Third Edition is an accessible account of modern cosmological ideas. The Big Bang Cosmology is explored, looking at its observational successes in explaining the expansion of the Universe, the existence and properties of the cosmic microwave background, and the origin of light elements in the universe. Properties of the very early Universe are also covered, including the motivation for a rapid period of expansion known as cosmological inflation. The third edition brings this established undergraduate textbook up-to-date with the rapidly evolving observational situation. This fully revised edition of a bestseller takes an approach which is grounded in physics with a logical flow of chapters leading the reader from basic ideas of the expansion described by the Friedman equations to some of the more advanced ideas about the early universe. It also incorporates up-to-date results from the Planck mission, which imaged the anisotropies of the Cosmic Microwave Background radiation over the whole sky. The Advanced Topic sections present subjects with more detailed mathematical approaches to give greater depth to discussions. Student problems with hints for solving them and numerical answers are embedded in the chapters to facilitate the reader’s understanding and learning. Cosmology is now part of the core in many degree programs. This current, clear and concise introductory text is relevant to a wide range of astronomy programs worldwide and is essential reading for undergraduates and Masters students, as well as anyone starting research in cosmology. The accompanying website for this text, http://booksupport.wiley.com, provides additional material designed to enhance your learning, as well as errata within the text.
Download or read book 14th European Workshop on White Dwarfs written by Detlev Koester and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 722 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Modern Statistical Methods for Astronomy written by Eric D. Feigelson and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2012-07-12 with total page 495 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Modern Statistical Methods for Astronomy: With R Applications.
Download or read book White Dwarfs and the Ages of Stellar Populations written by Steven Andrew De Gennaro and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 270 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Our group has developed a Bayesian modeling technique to determine the ages of stellar populations (in particular, open and globular clusters) using white dwarf (WD) cooling physics. As the theory of WD cooling is both simpler than, and essentially independent of, main sequence evolutionary theory, white dwarfs provide an independent measure of the ages of Galactic populations. We have developed a Bayesian technique that objectively incorporates our prior knowledge of stellar evolution, star cluster properties, and data quality estimates to derive posterior probability distributions for a cluster's age, metallicity, distance, and line-of-sight absorption, as well as the individual stellar parameters of mass, mass ratio (for unresolved binaries) and cluster membership probability. The key advantage of our Bayesian method is that we can calculate probability distributions for cluster and stellar parameters with reference only to known, quantifiable, objective, and repeatable quantities. In doing so, we also have more sensitivity to subtle changes in cluster isochrones than traditional "chi-by-eye'" cluster fitting methods. As a critical test of our Bayesian modeling technique, we apply it to Hyades UBV photometry, with membership priors based on proper motions and radial velocities, where available. We use secular parallaxes derived from Hipparcos proper motions via the moving cluster method to put all members of the Hyades at a common distance. Under the assumption of a particular set of WD cooling and atmosphere models, we estimate the age of the Hyades based on cooling white dwarfs to be 610 ± 110 Myr, consistent with the best prior analysis of the cluster main-sequence turn-off age (Perryman, et al. 1998). Since the faintest white dwarfs have most likely evaporated from the Hyades, prior work provided only a lower limit to the cluster's white dwarf age. Our result demonstrates the power of the bright white dwarf technique for deriving ages (Jeffery, et al. 2007) and further demonstrates complete age consistency between white dwarf cooling and main-sequence turn-off ages for seven out of seven clusters analyzed to date, ranging from 150 Myr to 4 Gyr. We then turn our attention to the white dwarf luminosity function. We use Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) data to create a white dwarf luminosity function with nearly an order of magnitude (3,358) more spectroscopically confirmed white dwarfs than any previous work. We determine the completeness of the SDSS spectroscopic white dwarf sample by comparing a proper-motion selected sample of WDs from SDSS imaging data with a large catalog of spectroscopically determined WDs. We derive a selection probability as a function of a single color (g-i) and apparent magnitude (g) that covers the range -1.0
Download or read book Pulsational Oddities at the Extremes of the DA White Dwarf Instability Strip written by Keaton John Bell and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 542 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: White dwarf stars are the remnant products of the vast majority of Galactic stellar evolution. They are compact objects that serve as remote laboratories for studying high energy/density physics. The outer regions of hydrogen-atmosphere (DA) white dwarfs become convective and able to drive global, nonradial, gravity-mode pulsations below roughly 12,500 K. The pulsations propagate through and are affected by the interior structures of these stars. The oscillations cause a pulsating star to exhibit brightness variations at its characteristic frequencies as a physical system. These frequencies can be measured through Fourier analysis of time series photometric observations. I have focused my studies on new pulsational phenomena near the cool and low-mass edges of the DA white dwarf instability strip, using extensive space-based data from the Kepler spacecraft and the K2 mission, as well as high-speed ground-based photometry from the 2.1-meter Otto Struve Telescope at McDonald Observatory (where I have personally observed 225 nights). The extensive short-cadence (1-min exposures) light curve of the first DAV (DA variable) identified within the original Kepler field of view provided one of the most complete and sensitive records of white dwarf pulsations ever. The light curve also revealed a new, completely unexpected outburst-like phenomenon. I detected 178 instances of significant brightness enhancement in 20 months of observations of the cool DAV KIC 4552982. Recurring with a quasi-period of 2.7 days, the outbursts last 4–25 hours and increase the stellar flux by up to 17%. I estimate the energy of each outburst to be of-order 1033 ergs. After the Kepler spacecraft suffered the loss of a second reaction wheel in May 2013, it began the K2 mission, visiting new fields along the ecliptic roughly every 80 days. This allowed us to increase the number of DAVs with extensive space-based photometry, and we quickly discovered a second, more dramatic example of this new outburst behavior in PG 1149+057 (Hermes et al. 2015b). I have led the efforts to characterize the outbursts in DAVs ever since and have detected these events in eight DAVs through K2 Campaign 10. Notably, spectroscopic effective temperature constraints place all known members of this new outbursting class of DAV near the cool (red) edge of the instability strip. With a growing outbursting class of DAV, we begin to study their ensemble outburst properties to inform a theory of their physical mechanism. Much of my work from McDonald Observatory has continued in the recent tradition of discovering and characterizing new pulsating extremely low-mass (ELM) white dwarfs. After identifying candidate ELM variables (ELMVs) from the ELM Survey catalog and parameters from model fits to the Sloan Digital Sky Survey spectroscopic data, I obtained time series photometric observations on the 2.1-meter Otto Struve telescope. I published SDSS J1618+3854 as the sixth member of this new class of variable star. However, most of the variability that I measured for this project was inconsistent with expectations for cooling track ELM white dwarfs. This includes long pulsation periods, high pulsation amplitudes, long eclipse timescales, and an overabundance of photometric variables that are not in confirmed short-period binaries from time series radial velocity measurements. Either the surface gravities of another class of star are being systematically overestimated from model fits to hydrogen line profiles in stellar spectra, or these observations are revealing an unexpectedly large population of recently formed pre-ELM white dwarfs. In total, I have discovered and characterized the variability of nine new pulsating stars in the spectroscopic parameter space of ELM white dwarfs, and I also developed an improved framework for interpreting measurements of tidally induced ellipsoidal variations in photometric binaries. Beyond these main results of my thesis on extreme pulsating white dwarfs, I have also explored the limits of the detectability of stellar pulsations in extreme photometric data sets. I analyze long-cadence (30-minute) K2 observations of two fairly typical DAVs in one such study, where the pulsations are severely undersampled. While accurate frequency determinations are nontrivial in such cases, I am able to recover the super-Nyquist frequencies of some pulsation modes with full K2 precision with the help of a few hours of ground-based observations. The space-based data, in turn, enables me to select the intrinsic frequency from the complex alias structure of multi-night ground-based data, providing a practical demonstration of the importance of carefully considering the spectral window. I apply what I have learned about undersampled data to anticipate upcoming pulsating star science in the next generation of synoptic time domain photometric surveys such as the Zwicky Transient Facility and the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope
