We present the discovery of a white dwarf companion at 3.6" from GJ3346, a nearby ($π\sim$42 mas) K star observed with SPHERE@VLT as part of an open time survey for faint companions to objects with significant proper motion discrepancies ($Δμ$) between Gaia DR1 and Tycho-2. Syrius-like systems like GJ3346AB, which include a main sequence star and a white dwarf, can be difficult to detect because of the intrinsic faintness of the latter. They have, however, been found to be common contaminants for direct imaging searches. White dwarfs have in fact similar brightness to sub-stellar companions in the infrared, while being much brighter in the visible bands like those used by Gaia. Combining our observations with Gaia DR2 and with several additional archival data sets, we were able to fully constrain the physical properties of GJ3346B, such as its effective temperature (11$\times$10$^3\pm$500 K) as well as the cooling age of the system (648$\pm$58 Myrs). This allowed us to better understand the system history and to partially explains the discrepancies previously noted in the age indicators for this objects. Although further investigation is still needed, it seems that GJ3346, which was previously classified as young, is in fact most likely to be older than 4 Gyrs. Finally, given that the mass (0.58$\pm$0.01$M_{\odot}$)} and separation (85 au) of GJ3346B are compatible with the observed $Δμ$, this discovery represents a further confirmation of the potential of this kind of dynamical signatures as selection methods for direct imaging surveys targeting faint, sub-stellar companions.
The discovery of 9 new brown-dwarf candidates orbiting stars in the CORALIE and HARPS radial-velocity surveys is reported. New CORALIE radial velocities yielding accurate orbits of 6 previously-known hosts of potential brown-dwarf companions are presented. Including targets selected from the literature, 33 hosts of potential brown-dwarf companions are examined. Employing innovative methods, we use the new reduction of the Hipparcos data to fully characterise the astrometric orbits of 6 objects, revealing M-dwarf companions with masses between 90 M_Jup and 0.52 M_Sun. Additionally, the masses o…
Brown dwarf companions to white dwarfs are rare, but recent infra-red surveys are slowly reveal- ing examples. We present new observations of the post-common envelope binary WD0137-349, which reveals the effects of irradiation on the ~ 0.05M* secondary, and new observations of GD 1400 which show that it too is a close, post-comon envelope system. We also present the lat- est results in a near-infrared photometric search for unresolved ultracool companions and to white dwarfs with UKIDSS. Twenty five DA white dwarfs were identified as having photometric excesses indicative of a low mass compani…
Metal pollution in white dwarf atmospheres is likely to be a signature of remnant planetary systems. Most explanations for this pollution predict a sharp decrease in the number of polluted systems with white dwarf cooling age. Observations do not confirm this trend, and metal pollution in old (1-5 Gyr) white dwarfs is difficult to explain. We propose an alternative, time-independent mechanism to produce the white dwarf pollution. The orbit of a wide binary companion can be perturbed by Galactic tides, approaching close to the primary star for the first time after billions of years of evolution…
Planets and other low-mass binary companions to stars face a variety of potential fates as their host stars move off the main sequence and grow to subgiants and giants. Stellar mass loss tends to make orbits expand, and tidal torques tend to make orbits shrink, sometimes to the point that a companion is directly engulfed by its primary. Furthermore, once engulfed, the ensuing common envelope (CE) phase can result in the companion becoming fully incorporated in the primary's envelope; or, if the companion is massive enough, it can transfer enough energy to eject the envelope and remain parked i…
We report the discovery of a transiting brown dwarf companion to KOI-205, a K0 main-sequence star, in a 11.720125-day period orbit. The transits were detected by the Kepler space telescope, and the reflex motion of the star was measured using radial velocity observations obtained with the SOPHIE spectrograph. The atmospheric parameters of the host stars were determined from the analysis of high-resolution, high signal-to-noise ratio ESPaDOns spectra obtained for this purpose. Together with spectrophotometric measurements recovered from the literature, these spectra indicate that the star is a …
We present a method which uses colour-colour cuts on SDSS photometry to select white dwarfs with hydrogen rich (DA) atmospheres without the recourse to spectroscopy. This method results in a sample of DA white dwarfs that is 95% complete at an efficiency of returning a true DA white dwarf of 62%. The approach was applied to SDSS Data Release 7 for objects with and without SDSS spectroscopy. This lead to 4636 spectroscopically confirmed DA white dwarfs with g<=19; a ~70% increase compared to Eisenstein et al.'s 2006 sample. Including the photometric-only objects, we estimate a factor of 3 incre…
Metal pollution in white dwarf atmospheres may be the accreted remnants of planetary objects. After the discovery of disintegrating planetary objects transiting WD 1145+017 (Vanderburg et al. 2015), undergraduates in the University of Washington's Pre- Major in Astronomy Program (Pre-MAP) were inspired to collect photometry of the brightest white dwarfs to hunt for similar transiting objects around other metal-polluted white dwarfs. Prior surveys have yet to make a detection of a transiting planet orbiting a white dwarf, yet white dwarfs are still an attractive target for searches of small, ro…
Polluted white dwarfs offer a unique way to study the bulk compositions of exoplanetary material, but it is not always clear if this material originates from comets, asteroids, moons, or planets. We combine N-body simulations with an analytical model to assess the prevalence of extrasolar moons as white dwarf (WD) polluters. Using a sample of observed polluted white dwarfs we find that the extrapolated parent body masses of the polluters are often more consistent with those of many solar system moons, rather than solar-like asteroids. We provide a framework for estimating the fraction of white…
There are 88 stars which lack colours, but have measured parallaxes in \textit{Gaia} EDR3 that place them within 20\,pc from the sun. Among them we found two new common parallax and proper motion (CPPM) companions separated from their primaries by about 3\,arcsec. The CPPM companion of a nearby ($d=14.98$\,pc) F1 star, \object{HD 105452 B}, was already imaged with the \textit{Hubble Space Telescope} and is now confirmed with \textit{Gaia} data and photometrically classified by us as M4 dwarf. The other CPPM companion, \object{SCR J1214-2345 B} orbiting an M4.5 dwarf at $d=10.77$\,pc, represent…
We present the results of a study to discover prospective new white dwarf-L dwarf binaries as identified by their near-infrared excesses in the UKIDSS catalogue. We obtained optical spectra to validate the white dwarf nature for 22 of the candidate primary stars, confirming ten as white dwarfs and determining their effective temperatures and gravities. For all ten white dwarfs we determined that the near-infrared excess was indeed indicative of a cool companion. Six of these are suggestive of late M dwarf companions, and three are candidate L dwarf companions, with one straddling the M$-$L bou…
We present Spitzer IRAC photometry of white dwarf remnants of 14 stars with M = 3-5 Msol. We do not detect mid-infrared excess around any of our targets. By demanding a 3 sigma photometric excess at 4.5 micron for unresolved companions, we rule out planetary mass companions down to 5, 7, or 10 M_J for 13 of our targets based on the Burrows et al. (2003) substellar cooling models. Combined with previous IRAC observations of white dwarf remnants of intermediate-mass stars, we rule out \geq 10 M_J companions around 40 white dwarfs and \geq 5 M_J companions around 10 white dwarfs.
Studies of excess infrared radiation around white dwarfs provide important constraints on the evolution of planetary systems and low-mass stars beyond the main sequence stage. In this paper series, we focus on identifying and characterizing bright white dwarfs with an infrared excess. Here, we present 188 infrared excess candidates from Gaia and unWISE, 147 of which are new discoveries. Further characterization of this sample can significantly increase the current list of white dwarf debris disks and white dwarfs with low-mass companions.
It is not known how single white dwarfs with masses less than 0.5Msolar -- low-mass white dwarfs -- are formed. One way in which such a white dwarf might be formed is after the merger of a helium-core white dwarf with a main-sequence star that produces a red giant branch star and fails to ignite helium. We use a stellar-evolution code to compute models of the remnants of these mergers and find a relation between the pre-merger masses and the final white dwarf mass. Combining our results with a model population, we predict that the mass distribution of single low-mass white dwarfs formed throug…
The article covers the physical properties and evolution of single white dwarfs ranging in temperature from 20,000K to 200,000 and higher, the hottest know electron-degenerate stars. After discussing the classification of their spectra, the author reviews the known properties, parameters, evolutionary state, as well as persisting and new puzzles regarding all spectroscopic subclasses of hot white dwarfs: the hot DA white dwarfs, the DAO white dwarfs, the PG1159 degenerates, the DO white dwarfs, the DB white dwarfs, the DBA white dwarfs, and the Hot DQ white dwarfs (an entirely new class). The …
The origin of strong magnetic fields in white dwarfs has been a puzzle for decades. Recently, a dynamo mechanism operating in rapidly rotating and crystallizing white dwarfs has been suggested to explain the occurrence rates of strong magnetic fields in white dwarfs with close low-mass main sequence star companions. Here we investigate whether the same mechanism may produce strong magnetic fields in close double white dwarfs. The only known strongly magnetic white dwarf that is part of a close double white dwarf system, the magnetic component of NLTT 12758, is rapidly rotating and likely cryst…
Multiple channels have been proposed to produce Type Ia supernovae, with many scenarios suggesting that the exploding white dwarf accretes from a binary companion pre-explosion. In almost all cases, theory suggests that this companion will survive. However, no such companion has been unambiguously identified in ancient supernova remnants -- possibly falsifying the accretion scenario. Existing surveys, however, have only looked for stars as faint as $\approx 0.1 L_\odot$ and thus would have missed a surviving white dwarf companion. In this work, we present very deep DECAM imaging $(u, g, r, z)$…
We report observational techniques, results, and Monte Carlo population analyses from a Spitzer Infrared Array Camera imaging survey for substellar companions to 117 nearby M, L, and T dwarf systems (median distance of 10 pc, mass range of 0.6 to \sim0.05 M\odot). The two-epoch survey achieves typical detection sensitivities to substellar companions of [4.5 μm] \leq 17.2 mag for angular separations between about 7" and 165". Based on common proper motion analysis, we find no evidence for new substellar companions. Using Monte Carlo orbital simulations (assuming random inclination, random eccen…
The Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) survey of helium-rich hot subdwarfs aims to explore evolutionary pathways amongst groups of highly-evolved stars. The selection criteria mean that several hot white dwarfs and related objects have also been included. This paper reports the discovery and analysis of eight new very hot white dwarf and pre-white dwarf stars with effective temperatures exceeding 100,000 K. They include two PG1159 stars, one DO white dwarf, three O(He) and two O(H) stars. One of the O(H) stars is the central star of a newly-discovered planetary nebula, the other is the ho…
We report photometric observations of the eclipsing close binary CSS21055 (SDSS J141126+200911) that strongly suggest that the companion to the carbon-oxygen white dwarf is a brown dwarf with a mass between 0.030 and 0.074 Msun. The measured orbital period is 121.73min and the totality of the eclipse lasts 125s. If confirmed, CSS21055 would be the first detached eclipsing WD+BD binary. Spectroscopy in the eclipse could provide information about the companion's evolutionary state and atmospheric structure.
We report the discovery of 9 089 new spectroscopically confirmed white dwarfs and subdwarfs in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 10. We obtain Teff, log g and mass for hydrogen atmosphere white dwarf stars (DAs) and helium atmosphere white dwarf stars (DBs), and estimate the calcium/helium abundances for the white dwarf stars with metallic lines (DZs) and carbon/helium for carbon dominated spectra DQs. We found 1 central star of a planetary nebula, 2 new oxygen spectra on helium atmosphere white dwarfs, 71 DQs, 42 hot DO/PG1159s, 171 white dwarf+main sequence star binaries, 206 magneti…
We identify Gaia0007-1605AC as the first inner brown dwarf-white dwarf binary of a hierarchical triple system in which the outer component is another white dwarf (Gaia0007-1605B). From optical/near-infrared spectroscopy obtained at the Very Large Telescope with the X-Shooter instrument and/or from Gaia photometry plus SED fitting, we determine the effective temperatures and masses of the two white dwarfs (12018+-68 K, 0.54+-0.01 Msun for Gaia0007-1605A and 4445+-116 K, 0.56+-0.05 Msun for Gaia0007-1605B) and the effective temperature of the brown dwarf (1850+-50 K; corresponding to a spectral …
The spectral distribution of field white dwarfs shows a feature called the "non-DA gap". As defined by Bergeron et al., this is a temperature range (5100K--6100K) where relatively few non-DA stars are found, even though such stars are abundant on either side of the gap. It is usually viewed as an indication that a significant fraction of white dwarfs switch their atmospheric compositions back and forth between hydrogen-rich and helium-rich as they cool. In this paper, we present a Monte Carlo model of the Galactic disk white dwarf population, based on the spectral evolution model of Chen and H…
We report the discovery of a substellar companion to 2MASS J02192210-3925225, a young M6 $γ$ candidate member of the Tucana-Horologium association (30 - 40 Myr). This L4 $γ$ companion has been discovered with seeing-limited direct imaging observations; at a 4" separation (160AU) and a modest contrast ratio, it joins the very short list of young low-mass companions amenable to study without the aid of adaptive optics, enabling its characterization with a much wider suite of instruments than is possible for companions uncovered by high-contrast imaging surveys. With a model-dependent mass of 12-…
The number of spatially unresolved white dwarf plus main-sequence star binaries has increased rapidly in the last decade, jumping from only ~30 in 2003 to over 3000. However, in the majority of known systems the companion to the white dwarf is a low mass M dwarf, since these are relatively easy to identify from optical colours and spectra. White dwarfs with more massive FGK type companions have remained elusive due to the large difference in optical brightness between the two stars. In this paper we identify 934 main-sequence FGK stars from the Radial Velocity Experiment (RAVE) survey in the s…
White dwarf stars are the final stage of most stars, born single or in multiple systems. We discuss the identification, magnetic fields, and mass distribution for white dwarfs detected from spectra obtained by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey up to Data Release 13 in 2016, which lead to the increase in the number of spectroscopically identified white dwarf stars from 5000 to 39000. This number includes only white dwarf stars with log g >= 6.5 stars, i.e., excluding the Extremely Low Mass white dwarfs, which are necessarily the byproduct of stellar interaction.
The origin of magnetic fields in white dwarfs remains a fundamental unresolved problem in stellar astrophysics. In particular, the very different fractions of strongly (exceeding 1 MG) magnetic white dwarfs in evolutionarily linked populations of close white dwarf binary stars cannot be reproduced by any scenario suggested so far. Strongly magnetic white dwarfs are absent among detached white dwarf binary stars that are younger than approximately 1 Gyr. In contrast, in semi-detached cataclysmic variables in which the white dwarf accretes from a low-mass star companion, more than one third host…
The Sloan Digital Sky Survey has allowed us to increase the number of known white dwarfs by a factor of five and consequently the number of known pulsating white dwarfs also by a factor of five. It has also led to the discovery of new types of variable white dwarfs, as the variable hot DQs, and the pulsating Extremely Low Mass white dwarfs. With the Kepler Mission, it has been possible to discover new phenomena, the outbursts present in a few pulsating white dwarfs.
The emission of the white dwarf-M dwarf binary AR Sco is driven by the rapid synchronization of its white dwarf, rather than by accretion. This requires a comparatively large magnetic field $\sim 100$ gauss at the M dwarf and $\sim 10^8$ gauss on the white dwarf, larger than the fields of most intermediate polars but within the range of fields of known magnetic white dwarfs. The spindown power is dissipated in the atmosphere of the M dwarf by magnetic reconnection, accelerating particles that produce the observed synchrotron radiation. The displacement of the optical maximum from conjunction m…
We consider the effects of rotation and temperature on the structure of white dwarfs in order to compare them with the estimated data from observations.
We present the first white dwarf mass distributions of a large and homogeneous sample of post-common envelope binaries (PCEBs) and wide white dwarf-main sequence binaries (WDMS) directly obtained from observations. Both distributions are statistically independent, with PCEBs showing a clear concentration of systems towards the low-mass end of the distribution, and the white dwarf mass distribution of wide WDMS binaries being similar to those of single white dwarfs. Our results provide evidence that the majority of low-mass (Mwd < 0.5Msun) white dwarfs are formed in close binaries.
The ESO Supernova Ia Progenitor Survey (SPY) took high-resolution spectra of more than 1000 white dwarfs and pre-white dwarfs. About two thirds of the stars observed are hydrogen-dominated DA white dwarfs. Here we present a catalog and detailed spectroscopic analysis of the DA stars in the SPY. Atmospheric parameters effective temperature and surface gravity are determined for normal DAs. Double-degenerate binaries, DAs with magnetic fields or dM companions, are classified and discussed. The spectra are compared with theoretical model atmospheres using a chi^2 fitting technique. Our final samp…
We present optical high-speed photometry of three millisecond pulsars with low-mass ($< 0.3 M_{\odot}$) white dwarf companions, bringing the total number of such systems with follow-up time-series photometry to five. We confirm the detection of pulsations in one system, the white dwarf companion to PSR J1738+0333, and show that the pulsation frequencies and amplitudes are variable over many months. A full asteroseismic analysis for this star is under-constrained, but the mode periods we observe are consistent with expectations for a $M_{\star} = 0.16 - 0.19 M_{\odot}$ white dwarf, as suggested…
By introducing a simplified transport model of outer layers of white dwarfs we derive an analytical semi-empirical relation which constrains effective temperature-mass-radius for white dwarfs. This relation is used to classify recent data of white dwarfs according to their time evolution in non-accretion process of cooling. This formula permit us to study the population map of white dwarfs in the central temperature and mass plane, and discuss the relation with the ignition temperature for C-O material. Our effective temperature-mass-radius relation provide a quick method to estimate the mass …
It has long been suspected that metal polluted white dwarfs (types DAZ, DBZ, and DZ) and white dwarfs with dusty disks possess planetary systems, but a specific physical mechanism by which planetesimals are perturbed close to a white dwarf has not yet been fully posited. In this paper we demonstrate that mass loss from a central star during post main sequence evolution can sweep planetesimals into interior mean motion resonances with a single giant planet. These planetesimals are slowly removed through chaotic excursions of eccentricity that in time create radial orbits capable of tidally disr…
The discovery of the first methane brown dwarf provides a framework for describing the important advances in both fundamental physics and astrophysics that are due to the study of companions of stars. I present a few highlights of the history of this subject along with details of the discovery of the brown dwarf Gliese 229B. The nature of companions of stars is discussed with an attempt to avoid biases induced by anthropocentric nomenclature. With the newer types of remote reconnaissance of nearby stars and their systems of companions, an exciting and perhaps even more profound set of contribu…
We report the discovery of 6576 new spectroscopically confirmed white dwarf and subdwarf stars in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 12. We obtain Teff, log g and mass for hydrogen atmosphere white dwarf stars (DAs) and helium atmosphere white dwarf stars (DBs), estimate the calcium/helium abundances for the white dwarf stars with metallic lines (DZs) and carbon/helium for carbon dominated spectra DQs. We found one central star of a planetary nebula, one ultra-compact helium binary (AM CVn), one oxygen line dominated white dwarf, 15 hot DO/PG1159s, 12 new cataclysmic variables, 36 magne…
Observations of white dwarfs in the globular clusters NGC 6397 and Omega Centauri indicate that these stars may get a velocity kick during their time as giants. If the mass loss while on the asymptotic giant branch is slightly asymmetric, the resulting white dwarf could be born with such a velocity kick. These energetic white dwarfs will impart their excess energy on other stars as they travel through the cluster. A Monte-Carlo simulation of the white-dwarfs kicks combined with estimate of the phase-space diffusion of the white dwarfs reveals that as the white dwarfs equilibrate, they lose mos…
Recently, a class of Roche-lobe-filling binary systems consisting of hot subdwarf stars and white dwarfs with sub-hour periods has been discovered. At present, the hot subdwarf is in a shell He burning phase and is transferring some of its remaining thin H envelope to its white dwarf companion. As the evolution of the hot subdwarf continues, it is expected to detach, leaving behind a low mass C/O core white dwarf secondary with a thick He layer. Then, on a timescale of $\sim 10$ Myr, gravitational wave radiation will again bring the systems into contact. If the mass transfer is unstable and re…
Spectroscopically identified white dwarfs from the SDSS data release 1 are matched against SDSS data release 1 proper motion survey in the search for common proper motion companions
Binary systems containing a magnetic white dwarf and a main-sequence star are considered extremely rare, perhaps non-existent. In the course of a search of magnetic fields in high-mass white dwarfs we have discovered a Sirius-like wide binary system composed of a main-sequence G0 star and a $M\sim 1.1\,M_\odot$ white dwarf with a huge (hundreds of MG) magnetic field. This star, WDS J03038+0608B, shows a circular polarisation amplitude of 5% in the continuum, with no evidence of variability in a 1d time-scale, little or no linear polarisation in the blue part of the spectrum, and about 2% linea…
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…
As a result of competing physical mechanisms, the atmospheric composition of white dwarfs changes throughout their evolution, a process known as spectral evolution. Because of the ambiguity of their atmospheric compositions and the difficulties inherent to the modeling of their dense atmospheres, no consensus exists regarding the spectral evolution of cool white dwarfs ($T_{\rm eff}<6000$ K). In the previous papers of this series, we presented and observationally validated a new generation of cool white dwarf atmosphere models that include all the necessary constitutive physics to accurately m…
We present a near-infrared photometric search for unresolved substellar companions and debris disks around white dwarfs in the UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey Large Area Survey. We cross-correlate the SDSS DR4 and McCook & Sion catalogues of white dwarfs with the UKIDSS DR8 producing 3109 and 163 unique matches respectively. Cooling models are fitted to the optical photometry of a subsample of DA white dwarfs and extended to the near-infrared. A comparison is then made with the observed photometry to identify those stars with a near-infrared excess consistent with the presence of a cool compani…
Abundance studies of solar-type stars revealed a small fraction of objects with extreme depletion of beryllium. We investigate the possible link between the beryllium depletion and the presence of companions. The classical methods (radial velocity, astrometry, imaging) used to search for binary companions were exploited. We also performed a chemical analysis to identify binaries by the alteration in abundances that is produced by the accretion of material lost by a former evolved companion. We found that all the four previously investigated stars that were found to be ultra--depleted in Be are…
We used the revised New Luyten Two-Tenths (rNLTT) catalog to select high proper motion white dwarf candidates. We studied the spectra of 70 hydrogen-rich (DA) white dwarfs, which were obtained at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) and extracted from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). We determined their effective temperature and surface gravity by fitting their Balmer line profiles to model white dwarf spectra. Using evolutionary mass-radius relations we determined their mass and cooling age. We also conducted a kinematical study of the white dwarf sample and found that most …
In this work, cold and hot, static and rotating white dwarf stars are investigated within the framework of classical physics, employing the Chandrasekhar equation of state. The main parameters of white dwarfs such as the central density, pressure, total mass and radius are calculated fulfilling the stability criteria for hot rotating stars. To construct rotating configurations the Hartle approach is involved. It is shown that the effects of finite temperatures become crucial in low-mass white dwarfs, whereas rotation is relevant in all mass range. The simultaneous accounting for temperature an…
There are no known examples of magnetic white dwarfs with fields larger than about 3MG paired with a non-degenerate companion in detached binary systems. The suggestion is that highly magnetic, isolated white dwarfs may originate from stars that coalesce during common envelope evolution while those stars that emerge from a common envelope on a close orbit may evolve into double degenerate systems consisting of two white dwarfs, one or both magnetic. The presence of planets or planetary debris around white dwarfs is also a new and exciting area of research that may give us important clues on th…
White dwarfs carry information on the structure and evolution of the Galaxy, especially through their luminosity function and initial-to-final mass relation. Very cool white dwarfs provide insight into the early ages of each population. Examining the spectra of all stars with $3σ$ proper motion in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 14, we report the classification for 20 088 spectroscopically confirmed white dwarfs, plus 415 hot subdwarfs, and 311 cataclysmic variables. We obtain Teff, log g and mass for hydrogen atmosphere white dwarf stars (DAs), warm helium atmosphere white dwarfs (D…
White dwarfs are the final remnants of low- and intermediate-mass stars. Their evolution is essentially a cooling process that lasts for $\sim 10$ Gyr. Their observed properties provide information about the history of the Galaxy, its dark matter content and a host of other interesting astrophysical problems. Examples of these include an independent determination of the past history of the local star formation rate, identification of the objects responsible for the reported microlensing events, constraints on the rate of change of the gravitational constant, and upper limits to the mass of wea…
Hot DQ white dwarfs constitute a new class of white dwarf stars, uncovered recently within the framework of the SDSS project. Recently, three hot DQ white dwarfs have been reported to exhibit photometric variability with periods compatible with pulsation g-modes. Here, we present a nonadiabatic pulsation analysis of the recently discovered carbon-rich hot DQ white dwarf stars. One of our main aims is to test the convective-mixing picture for the origin of hot DQs through the pulsational properties. Our study relies on the full evolutionary models of hot DQ white dwarfs recently developed by Al…
