No Arabic abstract
We identify two new tidally distorted white dwarfs (WDs), SDSS J174140.49+652638.7 and J211921.96-001825.8 (hereafter J1741 and J2119). Both stars are extremely low mass (ELM, < 0.2 Msun) WDs in short-period, detached binary systems. High-speed photometric observations obtained at the McDonald Observatory reveal ellipsoidal variations and Doppler beaming in both systems; J1741, with a minimum companion mass of 1.1 Msun, has one of the strongest Doppler beaming signals ever observed in a binary system (0.59 pm 0.06% amplitude). We use the observed ellipsoidal variations to constrain the radius of each WD. For J1741, the stars radius must exceed 0.074 Rsun. For J2119, the radius exceeds 0.10 Rsun. These indirect radius measurements are comparable to the radius measurements for the bloated WD companions to A-stars found by the Kepler spacecraft, and they constitute some of the largest radii inferred for any WD. Surprisingly, J1741 also appears to show a 0.23 pm 0.06% reflection effect, and we discuss possible sources for this excess heating. Both J1741 and J2119 are strong gravitational wave sources, and the time-of-minimum of the ellipsoidal variations can be used to detect the orbital period decay. This may be possible on a timescale of a decade or less.
To the best of our knowledge, there are no specific calculations of gravity-darkening exponents for white dwarfs in the literature. On the other hand, the number of known eclipsing binaries whose components are tidally and/or rotationally distorted white dwarfs is increasing year on year. Our main objective is to present the first theoretical approaches to the problem of the distribution of temperatures on the surfaces of compact stars distorted by rotation and/or tides in order to compare with relevant observational data. We find discrepancies between the gravity-darkening exponents calculated with our methods and the predictions of the von Zeipel theorem, particularly in the cases of cold white dwarfs; although the discrepancy also applies to higher effective temperatures under determined physical conditions. We find physical connections between the gravity-darkening exponents calculated using our modified method of triangles strategy with the convective efficiency (defined here as the ratio of the convective to the total flux). A connection between the entropy and the gravity-darkening coefficients is also found: variations of the former cause changes in the way the temperature is distributed on distorted stellar surfaces. On the other hand, we have generalised the von Zeipel theorem for the case of hot white dwarfs. Such a generalisation allows us to predict that, under certain circumstances, the value of the gravity-darkening exponent may be smaller than 1.0, even in the case of high effective temperatures.
The unprecedented extent of coverage provided by Kepler observations recently revealed outbursts in two hydrogen-atmosphere pulsating white dwarfs (DAVs) that cause hours-long increases in the overall mean flux of up to 14%. We have identified two new outbursting pulsating white dwarfs in K2, bringing the total number of known outbursting white dwarfs to four. EPIC 211629697, with T_eff = 10,780 +/- 140 K and log(g) = 7.94 +/- 0.08, shows outbursts recurring on average every 5.0 d, increasing the overall flux by up to 15%. EPIC 229227292, with T_eff = 11,190 +/- 170 K and log(g) = 8.02 +/- 0.05, has outbursts that recur roughly every 2.4 d with amplitudes up to 9%. We establish that only the coolest pulsating white dwarfs within a small temperature range near the cool, red edge of the DAV instability strip exhibit these outbursts.
NGC 4449 is a nearby Magellanic irregular starburst galaxy with a B-band absolute magnitude of -18 and a prominent, massive, intermediate-age nucleus at a distance from Earth of 3.8 megaparsecs. It is wreathed in an extraordinary neutral hydrogen (H I) complex, which includes rings, shells and a counter-rotating core, spanning 90 kiloparsecs. NGC 4449 is relatively isolated, although an interaction with its nearest known companion-the galaxy DDO 125, some 40 kpc to the south-has been proposed as being responsible for the complexity of its HI structure. Here we report the presence of a dwarf galaxy companion to NGC 4449, namely NGC 4449B. This companion has a V-band absolute magnitude of -13.4 and a half-light radius of 2.7 kpc, with a full extent of around 8 kpc. It is in a transient stage of tidal disruption, similar to that of the Sagittarius dwarf near the Milky Way. NGC 4449B exhibits a striking S-shaped morphology that has been predicted for disrupting galaxies but has hitherto been seen only in a dissolving globular cluster. We also detect an additional arc or disk ripple embedded in a two-component stellar halo, including a component extending twice as far as previously known, to about 20 kpc from the galaxys centre.
We present the results of a photometric and spectroscopic study of the white dwarf candidate members of the intermediate age open clusters NGC3532 and NGC2287. Of the nine objects investigated, it is determined that six are probable members of the clusters, four in NGC3532 and two in NGC2287. For these six white dwarfs we use our estimates of their cooling times together with the cluster ages to constrain the lifetimes and masses of their progenitor stars. We examine the location of these objects in initial mass-final mass space and find that they now provide no evidence for substantial scatter in initial mass-final mass relation as suggested by previous investigations. Instead, we demonstrate that, when combined with current data from other solar metalicity open clusters and the Sirius binary system, they hint at an IFMR that is steeper in the initial mass range 3M$_{odot}$$simless$M$_{rm init}$$simless$4M$_{odot}$ than at progenitor masses immediately lower and higher than this. This form is generally consistent with the predictions of stellar evolutionary models and can aid population synthesis models in reproducing the relatively sharp drop observed at the high mass end of the main peak in the mass distribution of white dwarfs.
White dwarf stars constitute the final evolutionary stage for more than 95 per cent of all stars. The Galactic population of white dwarfs conveys a wealth of information about several fundamental issues and are of vital importance to study the structure, evolution and chemical enrichment of our Galaxy and its components ---including the star formation history of the Milky Way. In addition, white dwarfs are tracers of the evolution of planetary systems along several phases of stellar evolution. Also, white dwarfs are used as laboratories for astro-particle physics, being their interest focused on physics beyond the standard model. The last decade has witnessed a great progress in the study of white dwarfs. In particular, a wealth of information of these stars from different surveys has allowed us to make meaningful comparison of evolutionary models with observations. While some information like surface chemical composition, temperature and gravity of isolated white dwarfs can be inferred from spectroscopy, and the total mass and radius can be derived as well when they are in binaries, the internal structure of these compact stars can be unveiled only by means of asteroseismology, an approach based on the comparison between the observed pulsation periods of variable stars and the periods predicted by appropriate theoretical models. The asteroseismological techniques allow us to infer details of the internal chemical stratification, the total mass, and even the stellar rotation profile. In this review, we first revise the evolutionary channels currently accepted that lead to the formation of white-dwarf stars, and then, we give a detailed account of the different sub-types of pulsating white dwarfs known so far, emphasizing the recent observational and theoretical advancements in the study of these fascinating variable stars.