EVOLUTION OF WHITE DWARF STARS WITH HIGH-METALLICITY PROGENITORS: THE ROLE OF 22 Ne DIFFUSION (original) (raw)
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The age-metallicity dependence for white dwarf stars
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 2015
We present a theoretical study on the metallicity dependence of the initial-to-final mass relation and its influence on white dwarf age determinations. We compute a grid of evolutionary sequences from the main sequence to ∼3000 K on the white dwarf cooling curve, passing through all intermediate stages. During the thermally pulsing asymptotic giant branch no third dredge-up episodes are considered and thus the photospheric C/O ratio is below unity for sequences with metallicities larger than Z = 0.0001. We consider initial metallicities from Z = 0.0001 to 0.04, accounting for stellar populations in the galactic disc and halo, with initial masses below ∼3 M. We found a clear dependence of the shape of the initial-tofinal mass relation with the progenitor metallicity, where metal-rich progenitors result in less massive white dwarf remnants, due to an enhancement of the mass-loss rates associated with high metallicity values. By comparing our theoretical computations with semi-empirical data from globular and old open clusters, we found that the observed intrinsic mass spread can be accounted for by a set of initial-to-final mass relations characterized by different metallicity values. Also, we confirm that the lifetime spent before the white dwarf stage increases with metallicity. Finally, we estimate the mean mass at the top of the white dwarf cooling curve for three globular clusters NGC 6397, M4 and 47 Tuc, around 0.53 M , characteristic of old stellar populations. However, we found different values for the progenitor mass, lower for the metal-poor cluster, NGC 6397, and larger for the younger and metal-rich cluster 47 Tuc, as expected from the metallicity dependence of the initial-to-final mass relation.
The Astrophysical Journal, 2005
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 turn-off 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 and calibrate both of these important clocks, and I present new simulations of promising open cluster targets. The most demanding requirement for these white dwarf studies are very deep (V ≥ 25-28) cluster observations made necessary by the faintness of the oldest white dwarfs.
The Astrophysical Journal, 2016
Because of the large neutron excess of 22 Ne, this isotope rapidly sediments in the interior of the white dwarfs. This process releases an additional amount of energy, thus delaying the cooling times of the white dwarf. This influences the ages of different stellar populations derived using white dwarf cosmochronology. Furthermore, the overabundance of 22 Ne in the inner regions of the star, modifies the Brunt-Väisälä frequency, thus altering the pulsational properties of these stars. In this work, we discuss the impact of 22 Ne sedimentation in white dwarfs resulting from Solar metallicity progenitors (Z = 0.02). We performed evolutionary calculations of white dwarfs of masses 0.528, 0.576, 0.657 and 0.833 M ⊙ , derived from full evolutionary computations of their progenitor stars, starting at the Zero Age Main Sequence all the way through central hydrogen and helium burning, thermally-pulsing AGB and post-AGB phases. Our computations show that at low luminosities (log(L/L ⊙) −4.25), 22 Ne sedimentation delays the cooling of white dwarfs with Solar metallicity progenitors by about 1 Gyr. Additionally, we studied the consequences of 22 Ne sedimentation on the pulsational properties of ZZ Ceti white dwarfs. We find that 22 Ne sedimentation induces differences in the periods of these stars larger than the present observational uncertainties, particularly in more massive white dwarfs.
White dwarf evolutionary sequences for low-metallicity progenitors: The impact of third dredge-up
Astronomy and Astrophysics
We present new white dwarf evolutionary sequences for low-metallicity progenitors. White dwarf sequences have been derived from full evolutionary calculations that take into account the entire history of progenitor stars, including the thermally-pulsing and the post-asymptotic giant branch phases. We show that for progenitor metallicities in the range 0.00003--0.001, and in the absence of carbon enrichment due to the occurrence of a third dredge-up episode, the resulting H envelope of the low-mass white dwarfs is thick enough to make stable H burning the most important energy source even at low luminosities. This has a significant impact on white dwarf cooling times. This result is independent of the adopted mass-loss rate during the thermally-pulsing and post-AGB phases, and the planetary nebulae stage. We conclude that in the absence of third dredge-up episodes, a significant part of the evolution of low-mass white dwarfs resulting from low-metallicity progenitors is dominated by ...
The white-dwarf cooling sequence of NGC 6791: a unique tool for stellar evolution
Astronomy & Astrophysics, 2011
NGC 6791 is a well-studied, metal-rich open cluster that is so close to us that can be imaged down to luminosities fainter than that of the termination of its white dwarf cooling sequence, thus allowing for an in-depth study of its white dwarf population. We use a Monte Carlo simulator that employs up-to-date evolutionary cooling sequences for white dwarfs with hydrogen-rich and hydrogen-deficient atmospheres, with carbon-oxygen and helium cores. The cooling sequences for carbon-oxygen cores account for the delays introduced by both Ne^22 sedimentation in the liquid phase and by carbon-oxygen phase separation upon crystallization. We do not find evidence for a substantial fraction of helium-core white dwarfs, and hence our results support the suggestion that the origin of the bright peak of the white dwarf luminosity function can only be attributed to a population of unresolved binary white dwarfs. Moreover, our results indicate that the number distribution of secondary masses of the population of unresolved binaries has to increase with increasing mass ratio between the secondary and primary components of the progenitor system. We also find that the observed cooling sequence appears to be able to constrain the presence of progenitor sub-populations with different chemical compositions and the fraction of non-DA white dwarfs. Our simulations place interesting constraints on important characteristics of the stellar populations of NGC 6791. In particular, we find that the fraction of single helium-core white dwarfs must be smaller than 5%, that a sub-population of stars with zero metallicity must be <12%, while if the adopted metallicity of the sub-population is solar the upper limit is ~8%. Finally, we also find that the fraction of non-DA white dwarfs in this particular cluster is surprinsingly small <6%.
New Cooling Sequences for Old White Dwarfs
The Astrophysical Journal, 2010
We present full evolutionary calculations appropriate for the study of hydrogen-rich DA white dwarfs. This is done by evolving white dwarf progenitors from the zero age main sequence, through the core hydrogen burning phase, the helium burning phase and the thermally pulsing asymptotic giant branch phase to the white dwarf stage. Complete evolutionary sequences are computed for a wide range of stellar masses and for two different metallicities: Z = 0.01, which is representative of the solar neighborhood, and Z = 0.001, which is appropriate for the study of old stellar systems, like globular clusters. During the white dwarf cooling stage we compute self-consistently the phase in which nuclear reactions are still important, the diffusive evolution of the elements in the outer layers and, finally, we also take into account all the relevant energy sources in the deep interior of the white dwarf, like the release of latent heat and the release of gravitational energy due to carbon-oxygen phase separation upon crystallization. We also provide colors and magnitudes for these sequences, based on a new set of improved non-gray white dwarf model atmospheres, which include the most up-to-date physical inputs like the Lyα quasi-molecular opacity. The calculations are extended down to an effective temperature of 2,500 K. Our calculations provide a homogeneous set of evolutionary cooling tracks appropriate for mass and age determinations of old DA white dwarfs and for white dwarf cosmochronology of the different Galactic populations.
A comparative analysis of the observed white dwarf cooling sequence from globular clusters
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 2016
We report our study of features at the observed red end of the white dwarf cooling sequences for three Galactic globular clusters: NGC 6397, 47 Tucanae and M 4. We use deep colourmagnitude diagrams constructed from archival Hubble Space Telescope (Advanced Camera for Surveys) to systematically investigate the blue turn at faint magnitudes and the age determinations for each cluster. We find that the age difference between NGC 6397 and 47 Tuc is 1.98 +0.44 −0.26 Gyr, consistent with the picture that metal-rich halo clusters were formed later than metal-poor halo clusters. We self-consistently include the effect of metallicity on the progenitor age and the initial-to-final mass relation. In contrast with previous investigations that invoked a single white dwarf mass for each cluster, the data show a spread of white dwarf masses that better reproduce the shape and location of the blue turn. This effect alone, however, does not completely reproduce the observational data-the blue turn retains some mystery. In this context, we discuss several other potential problems in the models. These include possible partial mixing of H and He in the atmosphere of white dwarf stars, the lack of a good physical description of the collision-induced absorption process and uncertainties in the opacities at low temperatures. The latter are already known to be significant in the description of the cool main sequence. Additionally, we find that the present-day local mass function of NGC 6397 is consistent with a top-heavy type, while 47 Tuc presents a bottom-heavy profile.
The effects of metallicity on the Galactic disk population of white dwarfs
Astronomy & Astrophysics, 2014
Context. It has been known for a long time that stellar metallicity plays a significant role in the determination of the ages of the different Galactic stellar populations, when main sequence evolutionary tracks are employed. Aims. Here we analyze the role that metallicity plays on the white dwarf luminosity function of the Galactic disk, which is often used to determine its age. Methods. We employ a Monte Carlo population synthesis code that accounts for the properties of the population of Galactic disk white dwarfs. Our code incorporates the most up-to-date evolutionary cooling sequences for white dwarfs with hydrogen-rich and hydrogen-deficient atmospheres for both carbon-oxygen and oxygen-neon cores. We use two different models to assess the evolution of the metallicity, one in which the adopted metallicity is constant with time, but with a moderate dispersion, and a second one in which the metallicity increases with time. Results. We found that our theoretical results are in a very satisfactory agreement with the observational luminosity functions obtained from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and from the SuperCOSMOS Sky Survey (SSS), independently of the adopted agemetallicity law. In particular, we found that the age-metallicity law has no noticeable impact in shaping the bright branch of the white dwarf luminosity function, and that the position of its cut-off is almost insensitive to the adopoted age-metallicity relationship. Conclusions. Because the shape of the bright branch of the white dwarf luminosity function is insensitive to the age-metallicity law, it can be safely employed to test the theoretical evolutionary sequences, while due to the limited sensitivity of the position of the drop-off to the distribution of metallicities, its location provides a robust indicator of the age of the Galactic disk.
Evolution and colors of helium-core white dwarf stars with high-metallicity progenitors
Astronomy and Astrophysics, 2009
Aims. Motivated by the recent detection of single and binary He-core white dwarfs in metal-rich clusters, we present a full set of evolutionary calculations and colors appropriate for the study of such white dwarfs. The paper is also aimed at investigating whether stable hydrogen burning may constitute a main source of energy for massive He-core white dwarfs resulting from high-metallicity progenitors.