Two delays in white dwarf evolution revealed by Gaia
Abstract
By comparing two age indicators of high-mass white dwarfs (WDs) derived from Gaia data, two discoveries have been made recently: one is the existence of a cooling anomaly that produces the Q branch structure on the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, and the other is the existence of high-mass WDs as double-WD merger products. The former poses a challenge for WD cooling models, and the latter has implications on binary evolution and type-Ia supernovae.
- Publication:
-
White Dwarfs as Probes of Fundamental Physics: Tracers of Planetary, Stellar and Galactic Evolution
- Pub Date:
- 2020
- DOI:
- 10.1017/S1743921320000460
- arXiv:
- arXiv:2001.04483
- Bibcode:
- 2020IAUS..357..175C
- Keywords:
-
- white dwarfs;
- stars: evolution;
- stars: kinematics;
- Hertzsprung-Russell diagram;
- methods: statistical;
- Astrophysics - Solar and Stellar Astrophysics;
- Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
- E-Print:
- 4 pages, 2 figures