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White dwarfs

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Articles 61 - 90 of 92

Full-Text Articles in Astrophysics and Astronomy

Debris Disks Around White Dwarfs: The Daz Connection, Mukremin Kilic, Ted Von Hippel, Et Al. Jul 2006

Debris Disks Around White Dwarfs: The Daz Connection, Mukremin Kilic, Ted Von Hippel, Et Al.

Publications

We present near-infrared spectroscopic observations of 20 previously known DAZ white dwarfs obtained at the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility. Two of these white dwarfs (G29-38 and GD 362) are known to display significant K-band excesses due to circumstellar debris disks. Here we report the discovery of excess K-band radiation from another DAZ white dwarf WD0408041 (GD56). Using spectroscopic observations, we show that the excess radiation cannot be explained by a stellar or substellar companion, and is likely to be caused by a warm debris disk. Our observations strengthen the connection between the debris disk phenomena and the observed …


Inverting Color-Magnitude Diagrams To Access Precise Star Cluster Parameters: A Bayesian Approach, Ted Von Hippel, Et Al. Jul 2006

Inverting Color-Magnitude Diagrams To Access Precise Star Cluster Parameters: A Bayesian Approach, Ted Von Hippel, Et Al.

Publications

We demonstrate a new Bayesian technique to invert color-magnitude diagrams of main-sequence and white dwarf stars to reveal the underlying cluster properties of age, distance, metallicity, and line-of-sight absorption, as well as individual stellar masses. The advantages our technique has over traditional analyses of color-magnitude diagrams are objectivity, precision, and explicit dependence on prior knowledge of cluster parameters. Within the confines of a given set of often-used models of stellar evolution, a single mapping of initial to final masses, and white dwarf cooling, and assuming photometric errors that one could reasonably achieve with the Hubble Space Telescope, our technique …


Lp 400-22, A Very Low Mass And High-Velocity White Dwarf, Adela Kawka, Stephane Vennes, Terry D. Oswalt, J. Allyn Smith, Nicole M. Silvestri Jun 2006

Lp 400-22, A Very Low Mass And High-Velocity White Dwarf, Adela Kawka, Stephane Vennes, Terry D. Oswalt, J. Allyn Smith, Nicole M. Silvestri

Publications

We report the identification of LP 400-22 (WD 2234 + 222) as a very low mass and high-velocity white dwarf. The ultraviolet GALEX and optical photometric colors and a spectral line analysis of LP 400-22 show this star to have an effective temperature of 11,080 ± 140 K and a surface gravity of log g p 6.32 ± 0.08. Therefore, this is a helium-core white dwarf with a mass of 0.17 MꙨ. The tangential velocity of this white dwarf is 414 ± 43 km s-1, making it one of the fastest moving white dwarfs known. We …


The Mystery Deepens: Spitzer Observations Of Cool White Dwarfs, Mukremin Kilic, Ted Von Hippel, Et Al. May 2006

The Mystery Deepens: Spitzer Observations Of Cool White Dwarfs, Mukremin Kilic, Ted Von Hippel, Et Al.

Publications

We present 4.5 and 8 µm photometric observations of 18 cool white dwarfs obtained with the Spitzer Space Telescope. Our observations demonstrate that four white dwarfs with Teᶠᶠ < 6000 K show slightly depressed mid-infrared fluxes relative to white dwarf models. In addition, another white dwarf with a peculiar optical and near-infrared spectral energy distribution (LHS 1126) is found to display significant flux deficits in Spitzer observations. These mid-infrared flux deficits are not predicted by the current white dwarf models including collision-induced absorption due to molecular hydrogen. We postulate that either the collision-induced absorption calculations are incomplete or there are other unrecognized physical processes occurring in cool white dwarf atmospheres. The spectral energy distribution of LHS 1126 surprisingly fits a Rayleigh-Jeans spectrum in the infrared, mimicking a hot white dwarf with effective temperature well in excess of 105 K. This implies that the source of this flux deficit is probably not molecular absorption but some other process.


Cool White Dwarfs In The Sloan Digital Sky Survey, Mukremin Kilic, Jeffrey A. Munn, Hugh C. Harris, James W. Liebert, Ted Von Hippel, Kurtis A. Williams, Travis S. Metcalfe, D. E. Winget, Stephen E. Levine Jan 2006

Cool White Dwarfs In The Sloan Digital Sky Survey, Mukremin Kilic, Jeffrey A. Munn, Hugh C. Harris, James W. Liebert, Ted Von Hippel, Kurtis A. Williams, Travis S. Metcalfe, D. E. Winget, Stephen E. Levine

Publications

A reduced proper motion diagram utilizing Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) photometry and astrometry and USNO-B plate astrometry is used to separate cool white dwarf candidates from metal-weak, high-velocity, mainsequence Population II stars (subdwarfs) in the SDSS Data Release 2 imaging area. Follow-up spectroscopy using the Hobby-Eberly Telescope, the MMT, and the McDonald 2.7 m telescope is used to demonstrate that the white dwarf and subdwarf loci separate cleanly in the reduced proper motion diagram and that the contamination by subdwarfs is small near the cool white dwarf locus. This enables large, statistically complete samples of white dwarfs, particularly the …


The White Dwarf Luminosity Function From Sloan Digital Sky Survey Imaging Data, Hugh C. Harris, Jeffrey A. Munn, Mukremin Kilic, James W. Liebert, Kurtis A. Williams, Ted Von Hippel, Stephen E. Levine, David G. Monet, Daniel J. Eisenstein, S. J. Kleinman, T. S. Metcalfe, Atsuko Nikka, D. E. Winget, J. Brinkmann, Masataka Fukugita, G. R. Knapp, Robert H. Lupton, J. Allyn Smith, Donald P. Schneider Jan 2006

The White Dwarf Luminosity Function From Sloan Digital Sky Survey Imaging Data, Hugh C. Harris, Jeffrey A. Munn, Mukremin Kilic, James W. Liebert, Kurtis A. Williams, Ted Von Hippel, Stephen E. Levine, David G. Monet, Daniel J. Eisenstein, S. J. Kleinman, T. S. Metcalfe, Atsuko Nikka, D. E. Winget, J. Brinkmann, Masataka Fukugita, G. R. Knapp, Robert H. Lupton, J. Allyn Smith, Donald P. Schneider

Publications

A sample of white dwarfs is selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Data Release 3 using their reduced proper motions, based on improved proper motions from combined SDSS and USNO-B data. Numerous SDSS and follow-up spectra (Kilic and coworkers) are used to quantify completeness and contamination of the sample; kinematicsmodels are used to understand and correct for velocity-dependent selection biases.A luminosity function is constructed covering the range 7 < Mbol < 16, and its sensitivity to various assumptions and selection limits is discussed. The white dwarf luminosity function based on 6000 stars is remarkably smooth and rises nearly monotonically to Mbol=15.3. It then drops abruptly, although the small number of low-luminosity stars in the sample and their unknown atmospheric composition prevent quantitative conclusions about this decline. Stars …


The Dust Cloud Around The White Dwarf G29-38, William T. Reach, Ted Von Hippel, Et Al. Dec 2005

The Dust Cloud Around The White Dwarf G29-38, William T. Reach, Ted Von Hippel, Et Al.

Publications

We present new observations of the white dwarf G29-38 with the camera (4.5 and 8 μm), photometer (24 μm), and spectrograph (5.5-14 μm) of the Spitzer Space Telescope. This star has an exceptionally large infrared excess, amounting to 3% of the bolometric luminosity. The spectral energy distribution (SED) has a continuum peak around 4.5 μm and a 9-11 μm emission feature 1.25 times brighter than the continuum. A mixture of amorphous olivine and a small amount of forsterite in an emitting region 1-5 R☉ from the star can reproduce the shape of the 9-11 μm feature. The SED …


Faint Blue Objects In The Hubble Deep Field–South Revealed: White Dwarfs, Subdwarfs, And Quasars, Mukremin Kilic, Ted Von Hippel, Et Al. Nov 2005

Faint Blue Objects In The Hubble Deep Field–South Revealed: White Dwarfs, Subdwarfs, And Quasars, Mukremin Kilic, Ted Von Hippel, Et Al.

Publications

We explore the nature of the faint blue objects in the Hubble Deep Field–South. We have derived proper motions for the point sources in the Hubble Deep Field–South using a 3 yr baseline. Combining our proper-motion measurements with spectral energy distribution fitting enabled us to identify four quasars and 42 stars, including three white dwarf candidates. Two of these white dwarf candidates, HDF-S 1444 and 895, are found to display significant proper motion, 21:1±7:9 and 34:9 ± 8:0 mas yr -1, and are consistent with being thick-disk or halo white dwarfs located at ̴2 kpc. The other faint …


Excess Infrared Radiation From The Massive Daz White Dwarf Gd 362: A Debris Disk?, Mukremin Kilic, Ted Von Hippel, Et Al. Oct 2005

Excess Infrared Radiation From The Massive Daz White Dwarf Gd 362: A Debris Disk?, Mukremin Kilic, Ted Von Hippel, Et Al.

Publications

We report the discovery of excess K-band radiation from the massive DAZ white dwarf star GD 362. Combining infrared photometric and spectroscopic observations, we show that the excess radiation cannot be explained by a stellar or substellar companion, and is likely to be caused by a debris disk. This would be only the second such system known, discovered 18 years after G29-38, the only single white dwarf currently known to be orbited by circumstellar dust. Both of these systems favor a model with accretion from a surrounding debris disk to explain the metal abundances observed in DAZ white dwarfs. …


Deep Photometry Of The Globular Cluster M5: Distance Estimates From White Dwarf And Main-Sequence Stars, Andrew C. Layden, Ted Von Hippel, Et Al. Oct 2005

Deep Photometry Of The Globular Cluster M5: Distance Estimates From White Dwarf And Main-Sequence Stars, Andrew C. Layden, Ted Von Hippel, Et Al.

Publications

We present deep VI photometry of stars in the globular cluster M5 (NGC 5904) based on images taken with the Hubble Space Telescope. The resulting color-magnitude diagram reaches below V ≈27 mag, revealing the upper 2–3 mag of the white dwarf cooling sequence and main-sequence stars 8 mag and more below the turnoff. We fit the main sequence to subdwarfs of known parallax to obtain a true distance modulus of (m ̶ M )0 = 14:45 ± 0:11 mag. A second distance estimate based on fitting the cluster white dwarf sequence to field white dwarfs with known parallax …


From Young And Hot To Old And Cold: Comparing White Dwarf Cooling Theory To Main-Sequence Stellar Evolution In Open Clusters, Ted Von Hippel Mar 2005

From Young And Hot To Old And Cold: Comparing White Dwarf Cooling Theory To Main-Sequence Stellar Evolution In Open Clusters, Ted Von Hippel

Publications

I explore the current ability of both white dwarf cooling theory and main-sequence stellar evolution theory to accurately determine stellar population ages by comparing ages derived using both techniques for open clusters ranging from 0.1 to 4 Gyr. I find good agreement between white dwarf and main-sequence evolutionary ages over the entire age range currently available for study. I also find that directly comparing main-sequence turnoff ages to white dwarf ages is only weakly sensitive to realistic levels of errors in cluster distance, metallicity, and reddening. Additional detailed comparisons between white dwarf and main-sequence ages have tremendous potential to refine …


The Initial-Final Mass Relationship: Spectroscopy Of White Dwarfs In Ngc 2099 (M37), Jasonjot Singh Kalirai, Ted Von Hippel, Et Al. Dec 2004

The Initial-Final Mass Relationship: Spectroscopy Of White Dwarfs In Ngc 2099 (M37), Jasonjot Singh Kalirai, Ted Von Hippel, Et Al.

Publications

We present new observations of very faint white dwarfs (WDs) in the rich open star cluster NGC 2099 (M37). Following deep, wide-field imaging of the cluster using the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, we have now obtained spectroscopic observations of candidate WDs using both the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph on Gemini North and the Low-Resolution Imaging Spectrometer on Keck. Of our 24 WD candidates (all fainter than V = 22.4), 21 are spectroscopically confirmed to be bona fide WDs, four or five of which are most likely field objects. Fitting 18 of the 21 WD spectra with model atmospheres, we find that most WDs …


The White Dwarf Luminosity Function: The Shape Of Things To Come, Ted Von Hippel, M. Kilie, J. Munn, K. Williams, J. Libert, D. E. Winget, T. S. Metcalfe, Et Al. Oct 2004

The White Dwarf Luminosity Function: The Shape Of Things To Come, Ted Von Hippel, M. Kilie, J. Munn, K. Williams, J. Libert, D. E. Winget, T. S. Metcalfe, Et Al.

Publications

We describe a new survey for cool white dwarfs that supplements Sloan Digital Sky Survey photometry with USNO proper motions and followup spectroscopy. To date we have discovered and spectroscopically confirmed 80 new moderate temperature and cool white dwarfs. We have also found a handful of high-velocity white dwarfs and we expect a sizable fraction of these to be thick disk or possibly halo objects. Our survey is designed to find 104 new white dwarfs, although only 60 will be among the faintest white dwarfs (MV 16), where most of the age-sensitivity resides. We discuss an extension of our survey …


Photometric Identification Of Cool White Dwarfs, M. Kilic, D. E. Winget, Ted Von Hippel, C. F. Claver Oct 2004

Photometric Identification Of Cool White Dwarfs, M. Kilic, D. E. Winget, Ted Von Hippel, C. F. Claver

Publications

We investigate the use of a narrowband DDO51 filter for photometric identification of cool white dwarfs. We report photometric observations of 30 known cool white dwarfs with temperatures ranging from 10,000 K down to very cool temperatures (3500 K). Follow-up spectroscopic observations of a sample of objects selected using this filter and our photometric observations show that DDO51 filter photometry can help select cool white dwarf candidates for follow-up multiobject spectroscopy by rejecting 65% of main-sequence stars with the same broadband colors as the cool white dwarfs. This technique is not selective enough to efficiently feed single-object spectrographs. We present …


Redefining The Empirical Zz Ceti Instability Strip, Anjum S. Mukadam, Ted Von Hippel, Et Al. Sep 2004

Redefining The Empirical Zz Ceti Instability Strip, Anjum S. Mukadam, Ted Von Hippel, Et Al.

Publications

We use the new ZZ Ceti stars (hydrogen-atmosphere white dwarf variables; DAVs) discovered within the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (Mukadam et al. 2004) to redefine the empirical ZZ Ceti instability strip. This is the first time since the discovery of white dwarf variables in 1968 that we have a homogeneous set of spectra acquired using the same instrument on the same telescope, and with consistent data reductions, for a statistically significant sample of ZZ Ceti stars. The homogeneity of the spectra reduces the scatter in the spectroscopic temperatures, and we find a narrow instability strip of width ~950 K, from …


Proper Motion Objects In The Hubble Deep Field, M. Kilic, Ted Von Hippel, Et Al. Jul 2004

Proper Motion Objects In The Hubble Deep Field, M. Kilic, Ted Von Hippel, Et Al.

Publications

Using the deepest and finest resolution images of the universe acquired with the Hubble Space Telescope and a similar image taken 7 yr later for the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey, we have derived proper motions for the point sources in the Hubble Deep Field–North. Two faint blue objects, HDF 2234 and HDF 3072, are found to display significant proper motion, 10:0 ± 2:5 and 15:5 ± 3:8 mas yr¯1. Photometric distances and tangential velocities for these stars are consistent with disk white dwarfs located at ~500 pc. The faint blue objects analyzed by Ibata et al. and Mendez & …


Thirty-Five New Pulsating Da White Dwarf Stars, Anjum S. Mukadam, Ted Von Hippel, Et Al. Jun 2004

Thirty-Five New Pulsating Da White Dwarf Stars, Anjum S. Mukadam, Ted Von Hippel, Et Al.

Publications

We present 35 new pulsating DA (hydrogen atmosphere) white dwarf stars discovered from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and the Hamburg Quasar Survey (HQS). We have acquired high-speed time series photometry of preselected DA white dwarfs with a prime focus CCD photometer on the 2.1 m telescope at McDonald Observatory over 15 months. We selected these stars on the basis of prior photometric and spectroscopic observations by the SDSS and HQS. For the homogeneous SDSS sample, we achieve a success rate of 80% for finding new variables at a detection threshold of 0.1%-0.3%. With 35 newly discovered DA variable …


Spectroscopic And Photometric Analysis Of Hs 1136+6646: A Hot Young Dao+K7 V Post-Common-Envelope, Pre-Cataclysmic Variable Binary, D. K. Sing, Terry D. Oswalt, J. B. Holberg, M. R. Burleigh, S. A. Good, Et Al. May 2004

Spectroscopic And Photometric Analysis Of Hs 1136+6646: A Hot Young Dao+K7 V Post-Common-Envelope, Pre-Cataclysmic Variable Binary, D. K. Sing, Terry D. Oswalt, J. B. Holberg, M. R. Burleigh, S. A. Good, Et Al.

Publications

Extensive photometric and spectroscopic observations have been obtained for HS 1136+6646. The observations reveal a newly formed post–common-envelope binary system containing a hot ~DAO.5 primary and a highly irradiated secondary. HS 1136+6646 is the most extreme example yet of a class of short-period hot H-rich white dwarfs with K–M companion systems such as V471 Tau and Feige 24. HS 1136+6646 is a double-line spectroscopic binary showing emission lines of H i, He ii, C ii, Ca ii, and Mg ii, due in part to irradiation of the K7 V secondary by the hot white dwarf. Echelle spectra reveal the hydrogen …


Observations Of White Dwarfs In The Solar Neighborhood, Adela Kawka, Stphane Vennes, John R. Thorstensen Mar 2004

Observations Of White Dwarfs In The Solar Neighborhood, Adela Kawka, Stphane Vennes, John R. Thorstensen

Dartmouth Scholarship

High proper motion surveys are still adding much to our understanding of the local white dwarf population and, possibly, to the Galactic halo membership of some objects. As part of our study of white dwarfs in the solar neighborhood we have observed seven white dwarfs from the revised New Luyten Two Tenths (NLTT) catalog of Salim & Gould. We found four DA white dwarfs (NLTT 529, 49985, 53468, 55932), one DZ white dwarf (NLTT 40607) that shows a close resemblance to the unusual DZ white dwarf G165-7, and two DC white dwarfs (NLTT 19138, NLTT 52404). The white dwarf candidates …


Constraining The Evolution Of Zz Ceti, Anjum S. Mukadam, S. O. Kepler, D. E. Nather, M. Kilic, F. Mullally, T. Von Hippel, S. J. Kleinman, A. Nitta, J. A. Guzik, P. A. Bradley, J. Matthews, K. Sekiguchi, D. J. Sullivan, T. Sullivan, R. R. Shobbrook, P. Birch, X. J. Jiang, D. W. Xu, S. Joshi, B. N. Ashoka, P. Ibbetson, E. Leibowitz, E. O. Ofek, E. G. Meištas, R. Janulis, R. D. Ališauskas, R. Kalytis, G. Handler, D. Kilkenny, D. O'Donoghue, D. W. Kurtz, M. Müller, P. Moskalik, W. Ogloza, S. Zola, J. Krzesiński, F. Johnannessen, J. M. Gonzalez-Perez, J. E. Solheim, R. Silvotti, S. Bernabei, G. Vauclair, N. Dolez, J. N. Fu, M. Chevreton, M. Manteiga, O. Suárez, A. Ulla, M. S. Cunha, T. S. Metcalfe, A. Kanaan, L. Fraga, A. F. M. Costa, O. Giovannini, G. Fontaine, P. Bergeron, M. S. O'Brien, D. Sanwal, M. A. Wood, T. J. Ahrens, N. Silvestri, E. W. Klumpe, S. D. Kawaler, R. Riddle, M. D. Reed, T. K. Watson Sep 2003

Constraining The Evolution Of Zz Ceti, Anjum S. Mukadam, S. O. Kepler, D. E. Nather, M. Kilic, F. Mullally, T. Von Hippel, S. J. Kleinman, A. Nitta, J. A. Guzik, P. A. Bradley, J. Matthews, K. Sekiguchi, D. J. Sullivan, T. Sullivan, R. R. Shobbrook, P. Birch, X. J. Jiang, D. W. Xu, S. Joshi, B. N. Ashoka, P. Ibbetson, E. Leibowitz, E. O. Ofek, E. G. Meištas, R. Janulis, R. D. Ališauskas, R. Kalytis, G. Handler, D. Kilkenny, D. O'Donoghue, D. W. Kurtz, M. Müller, P. Moskalik, W. Ogloza, S. Zola, J. Krzesiński, F. Johnannessen, J. M. Gonzalez-Perez, J. E. Solheim, R. Silvotti, S. Bernabei, G. Vauclair, N. Dolez, J. N. Fu, M. Chevreton, M. Manteiga, O. Suárez, A. Ulla, M. S. Cunha, T. S. Metcalfe, A. Kanaan, L. Fraga, A. F. M. Costa, O. Giovannini, G. Fontaine, P. Bergeron, M. S. O'Brien, D. Sanwal, M. A. Wood, T. J. Ahrens, N. Silvestri, E. W. Klumpe, S. D. Kawaler, R. Riddle, M. D. Reed, T. K. Watson

Publications

We report our analysis of the stability of pulsation periods in the DAV star (pulsating hydrogen atmosphere white dwarf) ZZ Ceti, also called R548. On the basis of observations that span 31 years, we conclude that the period 213.13 s observed in ZZ Ceti drifts at a rate dP/dt ≤ (5:5 ± 1:9) x 10-15 s s-1, after correcting for proper motion. Our results are consistent with previous Ṗ values for this mode and an improvement over them because of the larger time base. The characteristic stability timescale implied for the pulsation period is …


Search For Oxygen In Cool Dq White Dwarf Atmospheres, M. Kilic, Ted Von Hippel, D. E. Winget, D. F. Lester, D. Saumon Sep 2002

Search For Oxygen In Cool Dq White Dwarf Atmospheres, M. Kilic, Ted Von Hippel, D. E. Winget, D. F. Lester, D. Saumon

Publications

The existence of carbon in cool He white dwarf (WD) atmospheres has been known for a relatively long time[5]. The presence of carbon in these atmospheres is explained by convective dredge up of interior carbon [6]. Pelletier et al. (1986) presented the first detailed calculations of this process and showed that carbon diffuses upwards from the core into the base of the He-rich envelope where it can be dredged up by a surface convection zone. As the temperature of the star decreases, more carbon diffuses upward, and the base of convection zone moves deeper into the star, further enriching the …


Wiyn Open Cluster Study. Xi. Wiyn 3.5 Meter Deep Photometry Of M35 (Ngc 2168), Ted Von Hippel, Aaron Steinhauer, Ata Sarajedini, Constantine P. Deliyannis Sep 2002

Wiyn Open Cluster Study. Xi. Wiyn 3.5 Meter Deep Photometry Of M35 (Ngc 2168), Ted Von Hippel, Aaron Steinhauer, Ata Sarajedini, Constantine P. Deliyannis

Publications

We present deep BVI observations of the core of M35 and a nearby comparison field obtained at the WIYN 3.5 m telescope under excellent seeing conditions. These observations probe to V > 26 and display the lower main sequence in BV and VI CMDs down to V = 23.3 and 24.6, respectively. At these faint magnitudes the background Galactic field stars are far more numerous than the cluster stars, yet by using a smoothing technique and CMD density distribution subtraction we are able to recover the cluster fiducial main sequence and luminosity function to V = 24.6. We find the location …


White Dwarfs In Common Proper Motion Binary Systems: Mass Distribution And Kinematics, Nicole M. Silvestri, Terry D. Oswalt, Matt A. Wood, J. Allyn Smith, I. Neill Reid, Edward M. Sion Jan 2001

White Dwarfs In Common Proper Motion Binary Systems: Mass Distribution And Kinematics, Nicole M. Silvestri, Terry D. Oswalt, Matt A. Wood, J. Allyn Smith, I. Neill Reid, Edward M. Sion

Publications

We present the mass distribution, gravitational redshifts, radial velocities, and space motions of white dwarf stars in common proper motion binary systems. The mass distribution we derive for the 41 DA white dwarfs in this study has a mean of 0.68 ± 0.04 MꙨ. This distribution has a slightly higher mean and larger dispersion than most previous white dwarf studies. We hypothesize that this is due to a higher fraction of cool (average Teff ̴ 10,000 K), hence old, white dwarfs in our sample. Our results indicate that samples made up of predominantly cool, old white dwarf stars …


Hubble Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph Observations Of The Hot White Dwarf In The Close Binary Feige 24, Stephane Vennes, Elisha F. Polomski, Thierry Lanz, John R. Thorstensen Nov 2000

Hubble Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph Observations Of The Hot White Dwarf In The Close Binary Feige 24, Stephane Vennes, Elisha F. Polomski, Thierry Lanz, John R. Thorstensen

Dartmouth Scholarship

We obtained and analyzed two Hubble Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph spectra of the white dwarf in the DA plus dMe binary Feige 24. The spectra, obtained at orbital quadratures, provide new estimates of the white dwarf motion and gravitational redshift resulting in revised white dwarf parameters. An analysis of interstellar absorption lines reveals the presence of two clouds (+3.1 km s-1, +17.6 km s-1) in the line of sight toward Feige 24; one of these clouds (+17.6 km s-1) is identified with the "local cloud." A study of the Lyα H I and D I interstellar medium lines shows that …


The White Dwarf Cooling Age Of The Open Cluster Ngc 2420, Ted Von Hippel, Gerard Gilmore Sep 2000

The White Dwarf Cooling Age Of The Open Cluster Ngc 2420, Ted Von Hippel, Gerard Gilmore

Publications

We have used deep HST WFPC2 observations of two fields in NGC 2420 to produce a cluster color-magnitude diagram down to V ≈ 27. After imposing morphological selection criteria we find eight candidate white dwarfs in NGC 2420. Our completeness estimates indicate that we have found the terminus of the WD cooling sequence. We argue that the cluster distance modulus is likely to be close to 12.10 with E(B-V) = 0.04. With these parameters we find a white dwarf cooling age for NGC 2420 of 2.0 ± 0.20 (1 σ) Gyr. The 0.20 Gyr uncertainty includes errors in the photometry, …


Wiyn Open Cluster Study. I. Deep Photometry Of Ngc188, Ted Von Hippel, Ata Sarajedini Oct 1998

Wiyn Open Cluster Study. I. Deep Photometry Of Ngc188, Ted Von Hippel, Ata Sarajedini

Publications

We have employed precise and carefully calibrated V - and I - band photometry of NGC 188 at WIYN Observatory to explore the cluster luminosity function (LF) and study the cluster white dwarfs. Our photometry is offset by V = 0.052 (fainter) from that of Sandage and Eggen & Sandage. All published photometry for the past three decades has been based on these two calibrations, which are in error by 0.05 ± 0.01. We employ the Pinsonneault et al. fiducial open cluster main sequence to derive a distance modulus of 11.43 ± 0.08 and E(B - V )=0.09, with …


Contribution Of White Dwarfs To Cluster Masses, Ted Von Hippel Apr 1998

Contribution Of White Dwarfs To Cluster Masses, Ted Von Hippel

Publications

I have undertaken a literature search through 1997 July 31 of white dwarfs (WDs) in open and globular clusters. I have tried to make a careful evaluation in each case of the likelihood that the object is a WD and that it is a cluster member. The results are presented for 13 open clusters and 11 globular clusters. Currently there are 36 single WDs and Ðve WDs in binaries known among the open clusters, and 340 single WDs and 11 WDs in binaries known among the globular clusters. From these data, I have calculated WD mass fractions for four open …


Contribution Of White Dwarfs To Cluster Masses, Ted Von Hippel Apr 1998

Contribution Of White Dwarfs To Cluster Masses, Ted Von Hippel

Publications

I have undertaken a literature search through 1997 July 31 of white dwarfs (WDs) in open and globular clusters. I have tried to make a careful evaluation in each case of the likelihood that the object is a WD and that it is a cluster member. The results are presented for 13 open clusters and 11 globular clusters. Currently there are 36 single WDs and Ðve WDs in binaries known among the open clusters, and 340 single WDs and 11 WDs in binaries known among the globular clusters. From these data, I have calculated WD mass fractions for four open …


Whole Earth Telescope Observations Of The Helium Interacting Binary Pg 1346+082 (Cr Bootis), Judith L. Provencal, Donald E. Winget, R. Edward Nather, Edward L. Robinson, J. Christopher Clemens, Paul A. Bradley, Charles F. Claver, Scot J. Kleinman, Albert D. Grauer, Butler P. Hine, Lilia Ferrario, Darragh O'Donoghue, Brian Warner, Gerard Vauclair, Michel Chevreton, Kepler De Souza Oliveira Filho, Matt A. Wood, Gregory W. Henry May 1997

Whole Earth Telescope Observations Of The Helium Interacting Binary Pg 1346+082 (Cr Bootis), Judith L. Provencal, Donald E. Winget, R. Edward Nather, Edward L. Robinson, J. Christopher Clemens, Paul A. Bradley, Charles F. Claver, Scot J. Kleinman, Albert D. Grauer, Butler P. Hine, Lilia Ferrario, Darragh O'Donoghue, Brian Warner, Gerard Vauclair, Michel Chevreton, Kepler De Souza Oliveira Filho, Matt A. Wood, Gregory W. Henry

Information Systems and Engineering Management Research Publications

We present our analysis of 240 hr of white-light, high-speed photometry of the dwarf nova-like helium variable PG 1346+082 (CR Boo). We identify two frequencies in the low-state power spectrum, at 679.670 ± 0.004 μHz and 669.887 ± 0.008 μHz. The 679.670 μHz variation is coherent over at least a 2 week time span, the first demonstration of a phase-coherent photometric variation in any dwarf nova-like interacting binary white dwarf system. The high-state power spectrum contains a complex fundamental with a frequency similar, but not identical, to the low-state spectrum, and a series of harmonics not detected in low state. …


Pulsations And Accretion Geometry In Yy Draconis: A Study Based On Hubble Space Telescope Observations, Carole A. Haswell, Joseph Patterson, John R. Thorstensen, Coel Hellier Feb 1997

Pulsations And Accretion Geometry In Yy Draconis: A Study Based On Hubble Space Telescope Observations, Carole A. Haswell, Joseph Patterson, John R. Thorstensen, Coel Hellier

Dartmouth Scholarship

We present 1 Å resolution fast ultraviolet spectroscopy of YY Dra, coordinated U, B, V, R, and I photometry, and Hα spectroscopy. The UV continuum is strongly pulsed: we found 16% semiamplitude pulses with period 264.7(1) s; there was no evidence for power at twice this period. The UBV pulses are in phase with the UV continuum pulsation. A color temperature of 105 K was found for the pulse spectrum, with a corresponding area 0.5% of the white dwarf surface. We refine the white dwarf spin period, obtaining Pspin = 529.31 ± 0.02 s. Optical pulses at …