White Dwarfs in Close Binaries: A Systematic Search for Mass-transfer Systems and Supernova Ia Progenitors in the APOGEE Survey

We have created a new and unique database, the APOGEE-Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX)-Gaia catalog, to study white dwarfs in close binaries, and, in particular, to: (1) create a minimally biased sample of white dwarf-main sequence (WDMS) systems derived from the combination of GALEX, Gaia, and the dual hemisphere, multi-epoch, high-resolution, infrared APOGEE-1 and -2 spectroscopic surveys, and (2) exploit this catalog to vastly increase the number of well-characterized WDMS systems having derived dynamical parameters (e.g., masses, separation, orbital periods, etc.) as well as precision multi-element chemical compositions by exploiting the high resolution, multi-epoch data from APOGEE. This catalog will significantly further our understanding of compact binary evolution.