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Kilic, Mukremin

Publications and source records attributed to Kilic, Mukremin.

Asteroseismological analysis of the polluted ZZ Ceti star G 29 – 38 with TESS

G29 – 38 (TIC 422526868) is one of the brightest (V = 13.1) and closest (d = 17.51 pc) pulsating white dwarfs with a hydrogen-rich atmosphere (DAV/ZZ Ceti class). It was observed by the TESS spacecraft in sectors 42 and 56. The atmosphere of G 29 – 38 is polluted by heavy elements that are expected to sink out of visible layers on short time-scales. Here, the photometric TESS data set spans ~51 d in total, and from this, we identified 56 significant pulsation frequencies, that include rotational frequency multiplets. In addition, we identified 30 combination frequencies in each sector. The oscillation frequencies that we found are associated with g-mode pulsations, with periods spanning from ~ 260 to ~ 1400 s. We identified rotational frequency triplets with a mean separation δν ℓ = 1 of 4.67 μHz and a quintuplet with a mean separation δν ℓ = 2 of 6.67 μHz, from which we estimated a rotation period of about 1.35 ± 0.1 d. We determined a constant period spacing of 41.20 s for ℓ = 1 modes and 22.58 s for ℓ = 2 modes. We performed period-to-period fit analyses and found an asteroseismological model with M * /M ⊙ = 0.632 ± 0.03, K, and log g = 8.048 ± 0.005 (with a hydrogen envelope mass of M H ~ 5.6 × 10 –5 M * ), in good agreement with the values derived from spectroscopy. We obtained an asteroseismic distance of 17.54 pc, which is in excellent agreement with that provided by Gaia (17.51 pc).

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

General relativistic pulsations of ultra-massive ZZ Ceti stars

ABSTRACT Ultra-massive white dwarf stars are currently being discovered at a considerable rate, thanks to surveys such as the Gaia space mission. These dense and compact stellar remnants likely play a major role in Type Ia supernova explosions. It is possible to probe the interiors of ultra-massive white dwarfs through asteroseismology. In the case of the most massive white dwarfs, general relativity could affect their structure and pulsations substantially. In this work, we present results of relativistic pulsation calculations employing relativistic ultra-massive ONe-core white dwarf models with hydrogen-rich atmospheres and masses ranging from 1.29 to $1.369 \ \mathrm{M}_{\odot }$ with the aim of assessing the impact of general relativity on the adiabatic gravity (g)-mode period spectrum of very high mass ZZ Ceti stars. Employing the relativistic Cowling approximation for the pulsation analysis, we find that the critical buoyancy (Brunt–Väisälä) and acoustic (Lamb) frequencies are larger for the relativistic case, compared to the Newtonian case, due to the relativistic white dwarf models having smaller radii and higher gravities for a fixed stellar mass. In addition, the g-mode periods are shorter in the relativistic case than those in the Newtonian computations, with relative differences of up to ∼$50$ per cent for the highest mass models ($1.369 \ \mathrm{M}_{\odot }$) and for effective temperatures typical of the ZZ Ceti instability strip. Hence, the effects of general relativity on the structure, evolution, and pulsations of white dwarfs with masses larger than ∼$1.29 \ \mathrm{M}_{\odot }$ cannot be ignored in the asteroseismological analysis of ultra-massive ZZ Ceti stars.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

The White Dwarfs of the Old, Solar-metallicity Open Star Cluster Messier 67: Properties and Progenitors

The old, solar-metallicity open cluster Messier 67 has long been considered a lynchpin in the study and understanding of the structure and evolution of solar-type stars. The same is arguably true for stellar remnants; the white dwarf population of M67 provides crucial observational data for understanding and interpreting white dwarf populations and evolution. In this work, we determine the white dwarf masses and derive their progenitor star masses using high signal-to-noise spectroscopy of warm (≳10,000 K) DA white dwarfs in the cluster. From this, we are able to derive each white dwarf’s position on the initial–final mass relation (IFMR), with an average M {sub WD} = 0.60 ± 0.01 M {sub ⊙} and progenitor mass M {sub i} = 1.52 ± 0.04 M {sub ⊙}. These values are fully consistent with recently published linear and piecewise linear fits to the semiempirical IFMR and provide a crucial, precise anchor point for the IFMR for solar-metallicity, low-mass stars. The mean mass of M67 white dwarfs is also consistent with the sharp narrow peak in the local field white dwarf mass distribution, indicating that a majority of recently formed field white dwarfs come from stars with progenitor masses of ≈1.5 M {sub ⊙}. Our results enable more precise modeling of the Galactic star formation rate encoded in the field white dwarf mass distribution.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

The Most Massive White Dwarfs in the Solar Neighborhood

We present an analysis of the most massive white dwarf candidates in the Montreal White Dwarf Database 100 pc sample. We identify 25 objects that would be more massive than 1.3M ⊙ if they had pure H atmospheres and CO cores, including two outliers with unusually high photometric mass estimates near the Chandrasekhar limit. We provide follow-up spectroscopy of these two white dwarfs and show that they are indeed significantly below this limit. We expand our model calculations for CO core white dwarfs up to M = 1.334 M ⊙ , which corresponds to the high-density limit of our equation-of-state tables, ρ = 109 g cm -3 . We find many objects close to this maximum mass of our CO core models. A significant fraction of ultramassive white dwarfs are predicted to form through binary mergers. Merger populations can reveal themselves through their kinematics, magnetism, or rapid rotation rates. We identify four outliers in transverse velocity, four likely magnetic white dwarfs (one of which is also an outlier in transverse velocity), and one with rapid rotation, indicating that at least 8 of the 25 ultramassive white dwarfs in our sample are likely merger products.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

The 100 pc White Dwarf Sample in the SDSS Footprint

In this work, we present follow-up spectroscopy of 711 white dwarfs within 100 pc, and we present a detailed model atmosphere analysis of the 100 pc white dwarf sample in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey footprint. Our spectroscopic follow-up is complete for 83% of the white dwarfs hotter than 6000 K, where the atmospheric composition can be constrained reliably. We identify 1508 DA white dwarfs with pure hydrogen atmospheres. The DA mass distribution has an extremely narrow peak at 0.59 M ⊙ and reveals a shoulder from relatively massive white dwarfs with M = 0.7–0.9 M ⊙. Comparing this distribution with binary population synthesis models, we find that the contribution from single stars that form through mergers cannot explain the overabundance of massive white dwarfs. In addition, the mass distribution of cool DAs shows a near absence of M > 1 M ⊙ white dwarfs. The pile-up of 0.7–0.9 M ⊙ and the disappearance of M > 1 M ⊙ white dwarfs is consistent with the effects of core crystallization. Even though the evolutionary models predict the location of the pile-up correctly, the delay from the latent heat of crystallization by itself is insufficient to create a significant pile-up, and additional cooling delays from related effects like phase separation are necessary. We also discuss the population of infrared-faint (ultracool) white dwarfs and demonstrate for the first time the existence of a well-defined sequence in color and magnitude. Curiously, this sequence is connected to a region in the color–magnitude diagrams where the number of white dwarfs with a helium-dominated atmosphere is low. This suggests that the infrared-faint white dwarfs likely have mixed H/He atmospheres.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

The WIRED Survey. I. A Bright IR Excess Due to Dust Around the Heavily Polluted White Dwarf Galex J193156.8+011745

With the launch of the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), a new era of detecting planetary debris around white dwarfs (WDs) has begun with the WISE InfraRed Excesses around Degenerates (WIRED) Survey. The WIRED survey will be sensitive to substellar objects and dusty debris around WDs out to distances exceeding 100 pc, well beyond the completeness level of local WDs and covering a large fraction of known WDs detected with the SDSS DR4 WD catalog. In this paper, we report an initial result of the WIRED survey, the detection of the heavily polluted hydrogen WD (spectral type DAZ) GALEX Jl93156.S-KlI1745 at 3.35 and 4.6/Lm. We find that the excess is consistent with either a narrow dusty ring with an inner radius of 29 RWD. outer radius of 40 RWD, and a face-on inclination, or a disk with an inclination of 70 , an inner radius of 23 RWD. and an outer radius of 80 RWD. We also report initial optical spectroscopic monitoring of several metal lines present in the photosphere and find no variability in the line strengths or radial velocities of the lines. We rule out all but planetary mass companions to GALEXl931 out to 0.5 AU.

Debes, John H.↗