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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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7 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2022

The Pulsating Helium-atmosphere White Dwarfs. I. New DBVs from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey

Abstract We present a dedicated search for new pulsating helium-atmosphere (DBV) white dwarfs from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey using the McDonald 2.1 m Otto Struve Telescope. In total we observed 55 DB and DBA white dwarfs with spectroscopic temperatures between 19,000 and 35,000 K. We find 19 new DBVs and place upper limits on variability for the remaining 36 objects. In combination with previously known DBVs, we use these objects to provide an update to the empirical extent of the DB instability strip. With our sample of new DBVs, the red edge is better constrained, as we nearly double the number of DBVs known between 20,000 and 24,000 K. We do not find any new DBVs hotter than PG 0112+104, the current hottest DBV is at T eff ≈ 31,000 K, but do find pulsations in four DBVs with temperatures between 27,000 and 30,000 K, improving empirical constraints on the poorly defined blue edge. We investigate the ensemble pulsation properties of all currently known DBVs, finding that the weighted mean period and total pulsation power exhibit trends with effective temperature that are qualitatively similar to the pulsating hydrogen-atmosphere white dwarfs.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Measuring He i Stark Line Shapes in the Laboratory to Examine Differences in Photometric and Spectroscopic DB White Dwarf Masses

Abstract Accurate helium White Dwarf (DB) masses are critical for understanding the star’s evolution. DB masses derived from the spectroscopic and photometric methods are inconsistent. Photometric masses agree better with currently accepted DB evolutionary theories and are mostly consistent across a large range of surface temperatures. Spectroscopic masses rely on untested He i Stark line-shape and Van der Waals broadening predictions, show unexpected surface temperature trends, and are thus viewed as less reliable. To test this conclusion, we present in this paper detailed He i Stark line-shape measurements at conditions relevant to DB atmospheres ( T electron ≈12,000–17,000 K, n electron ≈ 10 17 cm −3 ). We use X-rays from Sandia National Laboratories’ Z -machine to create a uniform ≈120 mm long hydrogen–helium mixture plasma. Van der Waals broadening is negligible at our experimental conditions, allowing us to measure He i Stark profiles only. H β , which has been well-studied in our platform and elsewhere, serves as the n e diagnostic. We find that He i Stark broadening models used in DB analyses are accurate within errors at tested conditions. It therefore seems unlikely that line-shape models are solely responsible for the observed spectroscopic mass trends. Our results should motivate the WD community to further scrutinize the validity of other spectroscopic and photometric input parameters, like atmospheric structure assumptions and convection corrections. These parameters can significantly change the derived DB mass. Identifying potential weaknesses in any input parameters could further our understanding of DBs, help elucidate their evolutionary origins, and strengthen confidence in both spectroscopic and photometric masses.

Schaeuble, M. -A. (ORCID:0000000188695203)↗
DOE OSTI2020

Atmospheric Temperature Inversions and He ι 5876 Core Profile Structure in White Dwarfs

Here we report distinctive core profiles in the strongest optical helium line, He ι λ5876, from high-resolution high-sensitivity observations of spectral type DB white dwarfs. By analyzing a sample of 40 stars from Keck/HIRES and VLT/UVES, we find the core appearance to be related to the degree of hydrogen and heavy element content in the atmosphere. New Ca K-line measurements or upper limits are reported for about half the sample stars. He ι λ5876 emission cores with a self-reversed central component are present for those stars with relatively low hydrogen abundance, as well as relatively low atmospheric heavy element pollution. This self-reversed structure disappears for stars with higher degrees of pollution and/or hydrogen abundance, giving way to a single absorption core. From our model atmospheres, we show that the self-reversed emission cores can be explained by temperature inversions in the upper atmosphere. We propose that the transition to a single absorption core is due to the additional opacity from hydrogen and heavy elements that inhibits the temperature inversions. Our current models do not exactly match the effective temperature range of the phenomenon or the amplitude of the self-reversed structure, which is possibly a result of missing physics such as 3D treatment, convective overshoot, and/or non-LTE effects. The He ι λ5876 line structure may prove to be a useful new diagnostic for calibrating temperature profiles in DB atmosphere models.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Hot Degenerates in the MCT Survey. III. A Sample of White Dwarf Stars in the Southern Hemisphere

Here, we present optical spectra of 144 white dwarfs detected in the Montreal–Cambridge–Tololo colorimetric survey, including 120 DA, 12 DB, 4 DO, 1 DQ, and 7 DC stars. We also perform a model atmosphere analysis of all objects in our sample using the so-called spectroscopic technique, or the photometric technique in the case of DC white dwarfs. The main objective of this paper is to contribute to the ongoing effort of confirming spectroscopically all white dwarf candidates in the Gaia survey, in particular in the southern hemisphere. All our spectra are made available in the Montreal White Dwarf Database.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

On the Spectral Evolution of Hot White Dwarf Stars. II. Time-dependent Simulations of Element Transport in Evolving White Dwarfs with STELUM

White dwarf stars are subject to various element transport mechanisms that can cause their surface composition to change radically as they cool, a phenomenon known as spectral evolution. In this paper, we undertake a comprehensive theoretical investigation of the spectral evolution of white dwarfs. First, we introduce STELUM, a new implementation of the stellar evolutionary code developed at the Université de Montréal. We provide a thorough description of the physical content and numerical techniques of the code, covering the treatment of both stellar evolution and chemical transport. Then, we present two state-of-the-art numerical simulations of element transport in evolving white dwarfs. Atomic diffusion, convective mixing, and mass loss are considered simultaneously as time-dependent diffusive processes and are fully coupled to the cooling. We first model the PG 1159-DO-DB-DQ evolutionary channel: a helium-, carbon-, and oxygen-rich PG 1159 star transforms into a pure-helium DB white dwarf due to gravitational settling and then into a helium-dominated, carbon-polluted DQ white dwarf through convective dredge-up. We also compute for the first time the full DO-DA-DC evolutionary channel: a helium-rich DO white dwarf harboring residual hydrogen becomes a pure-hydrogen DA star through the float-up process and then a helium-dominated, hydrogen-bearing DC star due to convective mixing. We demonstrate that our results are in excellent agreement with available empirical constraints. In particular, our DO-DA-DC simulation perfectly reproduces the lower branch of the bifurcation observed in the Gaia color–magnitude diagram, which can therefore be interpreted as a signature of spectral evolution.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Experimental methods for laboratory measurements of helium spectral line broadening in white dwarf photospheres

White Dwarf (WD) stars are the most common stellar remnant in the universe. WDs usually have a hydrogen or helium atmosphere, and helium WD (called DB) spectra can be used to solve outstanding problems in stellar and galactic evolution. DB origins, which are still a mystery, must be known to solve these problems. DB masses are crucial for discriminating between different proposed DB evolutionary hypotheses. Current DB mass determination methods deliver conflicting results. The spectroscopic mass determination method relies on line broadening models that have not been validated at DB atmosphere conditions. We performed helium benchmark experiments using the White Dwarf Photosphere Experiment (WDPE) platform at Sandia National Laboratories' Z-machine that aims to study He line broadening at DB conditions. Using hydrogen/helium mixture plasmas allows investigating the importance of He Stark and van der Waals broadening simultaneously. Accurate experimental data reduction methods are essential to test these line-broadening theories. In this paper, we present data calibration methods for these benchmark He line shape experiments. We give a detailed account of data processing, spectral power calibrations, and instrument broadening measurements. Uncertainties for each data calibration step are also derived. We demonstrate that our experiments meet all benchmark experiment accuracy requirements: WDPE wavelength uncertainties are <1 Å, spectral powers can be determined to within 15%, densities are accurate at the 20% level, and instrumental broadening can be measured with 20% accuracy. Fulfilling these stringent requirements enables WDPE experimental data to provide physically meaningful conclusions about line broadening at DB conditions.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

New Conductive Opacities for White Dwarf Envelopes

Thanks to their continuous cooling and relative simplicity, white dwarf stars are routinely used to measure the ages of stellar populations. The usefulness of white dwarfs as cosmochronometers depends on the availability of accurate cooling models. A key ingredient of those models is conductive opacities, which largely govern the cooling rate. In this work, we present improved conductive opacities for the regime of moderate coupling and moderate degeneracy that characterizes an important portion of the envelopes of DA and DB white dwarfs. Here, we find differences of up to a factor of 3 between our calculations and the commonly used opacities of Cassisi et al., which we attribute to an improved account of electron–electron scattering. The cooling models are strongly affected by those changes in the conductive opacities: the age of a 4000 K white dwarf can be reduced by as much as 2 Gyr. We provide analytical fits to our new opacities to facilitate the implementation of this important effect in white dwarf evolution codes.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗