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Completeness Of The Nearby White Dwarf Sample: Let Us Count The Ways, Terry D. Oswalt, Jay Holberg, Edward M. Sion
Completeness Of The Nearby White Dwarf Sample: Let Us Count The Ways, Terry D. Oswalt, Jay Holberg, Edward M. Sion
Publications
We have recently extended our ongoing survey of the local white dwarf population, effectively doubling the sample volume. Based upon the latest distance determinations, Holberg et al. (2016) estimated the present 20 pc and 25 pc samples were about 86 and 68 percent complete, respectively. Here we examine how the completeness of the 25 pc sample depends upon other observables such as apparent magnitude, proper motion, photometric color index, etc. The results may provide additional clues to why “Sirius-Like systems” are underrepresented in the extended 25 pc sample and how additional nearby single white dwarf stars may be found.
The White Dwarf Luminosity Function, Enrique Garcia-Berro, Terry D. Oswalt
The White Dwarf Luminosity Function, Enrique Garcia-Berro, Terry D. Oswalt
Publications
White dwarfs are the final remnants of low- and intermediate-mass stars. Their evolution is essentially a cooling process that lasts for ∼ 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 weakly interacting massive particles. To carry on these tasks …