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Register a new userGaia Reveals Evidence for Merged White Dwarfs
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We use Gaia Data Release 2 to identify 13,928 white dwarfs within 100 pc of the Sun. The exquisite astrometry from Gaia reveals for the first time a bifurcation in the observed white dwarf sequence in both Gaia and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) passbands. The latter is easily explained by a helium atmosphere white dwarf fraction of 36%. However, the bifurcation in the Gaia colour-magnitude diagram depends on both the atmospheric composition and the mass distribution. We simulate theoretical colour-magnitude diagrams for single and binary white dwarfs using a population synthesis approach and demonstrate that there is a significant contribution from relatively massive white dwarfs that likely formed through mergers. These include white dwarf remnants of main-sequence (blue stragglers) and post-main sequence mergers. The mass distribution of the SDSS subsample, including the spectroscopically confirmed white dwarfs, also shows this massive bump. This is the first direct detection of such a population in a volume-limited sample.
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The Gaia Data Release 1 (DR1) sample of white dwarf parallaxes is presented, including 6 directly observed degenerates and 46 white dwarfs in wide binaries. This data set is combined with spectroscopic atmospheric parameters to study the white dwarf mass-radius relationship (MRR). Gaia parallaxes and G magnitudes are used to derive model atmosphere dependent white dwarf radii, which can then be compared to the predictions of a theoretical MRR. We find a good agreement between Gaia DR1 parallaxes, published effective temperatures (Teff) and surface gravities (log g), and theoretical MRRs. As it was the case for Hipparcos, the precision of the data does not allow for the characterisation of hydrogen envelope masses. The uncertainties on the spectroscopic atmospheric parameters are found to dominate the error budget and current error estimates for well-known and bright white dwarfs may be slightly optimistic. With the much larger Gaia DR2 white dwarf sample it will be possible to explore the MRR over a much wider range of mass, Teff, and spectral types.
We analyzed the velocity space of the thin and thick-disk Gaia white dwarf population within 100 pc looking for signatures of the Hercules stellar stream. We aimed to identify those objects belonging to the Hercules stream and, by taking advantage of white dwarf stars as reliable cosmochronometers, to derive a first age distribution. We applied a kernel density estimation to the $UV$ velocity space of white dwarfs. For the region where a clear overdensity of stars was found, we created a 5-D space of dynamic variables. We applied a hierarchichal clustering method, HDBSCAN, to this 5-D space, identifying those white dwarfs that share similar kinematic characteristics. Finally, under general assumptions and from their photometric properties, we derived an age estimate for each object. The Hercules stream was firstly revealed as an overdensity in the $UV$ velocity space of the thick-disk white dwarf population. Three substreams were then found: Hercules $a$ and Hercules $b$, formed by thick-disk stars with an age distribution peaked $4,$Gyr in the past and extended to very old ages; and Hercules $c$, with a ratio of 65:35 thin:thick stars and a more uniform age distribution younger than 10 Gyr.
We present a catalogue of white dwarf candidates selected from Gaia early data release three (EDR3). We applied several selection criteria in absolute magnitude, colour, and Gaia quality flags to remove objects with unreliable measurements while preserving most stars compatible with the white dwarf locus in the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. We then used a sample of over 30 000 spectroscopically confirmed white dwarfs and contaminants from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) to map the distribution of these objects in the Gaia absolute magnitude-colour space. Finally, we adopt the same method presented in our previous Gaia DR2 work to calculate a probability of being a white dwarf (Pwd) for $simeq$1.3 million sources which passed our quality selection. The Pwd values can be used to select a sample of $simeq$359 000 high-confidence white dwarf candidates in the magnitude range 8< G <21. We calculated stellar parameters (effective temperature, surface gravity, and mass) for all these stars by fitting Gaia astrometry and photometry with synthetic models. We estimate an upper limit of 93 per cent for the overall completeness of our catalogue for white dwarfs with G $leq$20 mag and effective temperature (Teff)>7000K, at high Galactic latitudes (|b|>20{deg}). Alongside the main catalogue we include a reduced-proper-motion extension containing $simeq$10 200 white dwarf candidates with unreliable parallax measurements which could, however be identified on the basis of their proper motion. We also performed a cross-match of our catalogues with SDSS DR16 spectroscopy and provide spectral classification based on visual inspection for all resulting matches.
We suggest that fast-rising blue optical transients (FBOTs) and the brightest event of the class AT2018cow result from an electron-capture collapse to a NS following a merger of a massive ONeMg white dwarf (WD) with another WD. Two distinct evolutionary channels lead to the disruption of the less massive WD during the merger and the formation of a shell burning non-degenerate star incorporating the ONeMg core. During the shell burning stage a large fraction of the envelope is lost to the wind, while mass and angular momentum are added to the core. As a result, the electron-capture collapse occurs with a small envelope mass, after $sim 10^2-10^4$ years. During the formation of a neutron star as little as $sim 10^{-2} M_odot $ of the material is ejected at the bounce-off with mildly relativistic velocities and total energy $sim$ few $ 10^{50}$ ergs. This ejecta becomes optically thin on a time scale of days - this is the FBOT. During the collapse, the neutron star is spun up and magnetic field is amplified. The ensuing fast magnetically-dominated relativistic wind from the newly formed neutron star shocks against the ejecta, and later against the wind. The radiation-dominated forward shock produces the long-lasting optical afterglow, while the termination shock of the relativistic wind produces the high energy emission in a manner similar to Pulsar Wind Nebulae. If the secondary WD was of the DA type, the wind will likely have $sim 10^{-4} M_odot$ of hydrogen; this explains the appearance of hydrogen late in the afterglow spectrum. The model explains many of the puzzling properties of FBOTs/AT2018cow: host galaxies, a fast and light anisotropic ejecta producing a bright optical peak, afterglow high energy emission of similar luminosity to the optical, and late infra-red features.
We analyse the 100pc Gaia white dwarf volume-limited sample by means of VOSA (Virtual Observatory SED Analyser) with the aim of identifying candidates for displaying infrared excesses. Our search focuses on the study of the spectral energy distribution (SED) of 3,733 white dwarfs with reliable infrared photometry and GBP-GRP colours below 0.8 mag, a sample which seems to be nearly representative of the overall white dwarf population. Our search results in 77 selected candidates, 52 of which are new identifications. For each target we apply a two-component SED fitting implemented in VOSA to derive the effective temperatures of both the white dwarf and the object causing the excess. We calculate a fraction of infrared-excess white dwarfs due to the presence of a circumstellar disk of 1.6+-0.2%, a value which increases to 2.6+-0.3% if we take into account incompleteness issues. Our results are in agreement with the drop in the percentage of infrared excess detections for cool (<8,000K) and hot (>20,000K) white dwarfs obtained in previous analyses. The fraction of white dwarfs with brown dwarf companions we derive is ~0.1-0.2%.
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