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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Wide Binary Systems And The Nature Of High-Velocity White Dwarfs, Nicole M. Silvestri, Terry D. Oswalt, Suzanne L. Hawley
Wide Binary Systems And The Nature Of High-Velocity White Dwarfs, Nicole M. Silvestri, Terry D. Oswalt, Suzanne L. Hawley
Aerospace, Physics, and Space Science Faculty Publications
We present measured radial velocities and complete space motions for 116 white dwarf stars with M dwarf companions. Thirteen pairs have " halo-like " velocities. According to a recent study by Oppenheimer et al., all these high-velocity white dwarfs should be considered part of the dark matter heavy halo of the Galaxy, based on their kinematics. Based on the near-solar abundance levels of the M dwarf companions, we conclude that 12 of our 13 high-velocity white dwarfs are actually part of the high-velocity tail of the thick disk, rather than the dark matter halo of the Galaxy, in agreement with …
A Determination Of The Local Density Of White Dwarf Stars, Jay B. Holberg, Terry D. Oswalt, Edward M. Sión
A Determination Of The Local Density Of White Dwarf Stars, Jay B. Holberg, Terry D. Oswalt, Edward M. Sión
Aerospace, Physics, and Space Science Faculty Publications
The most recent version of the Catalog of Spectroscopically Identified White Dwarfs lists 2249 white dwarf stars. Among these stars are 109 white dwarfs that have either reliable trigonometric parallaxes or color-based distance moduli that place them at a distance within 20 pc of the Sun. Most of these nearby white dwarfs are isolated stars, but 28 (25% of the sample) are in binary systems, including such well-known systems as Sirius A/B and Procyon A/B. There are also three double degenerate systems in this sample of the local white dwarf population. The sample of local white dwarfs is largely complete …