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The spectral evolution of cool white dwarfs

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 October 2020

Simon Blouin Open the ORCID record for Simon Blouin [Opens in a new window]  and
Patrick Dufour
Simon Blouin
Affiliation:
Los Alamos National Laboratory, P.O. Box 1663, Mail Stop B265, Los Alamos, NM87545, USA email: sblouin@lanl.gov
Patrick Dufour
Affiliation:
Département de physique, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC H3C 3J7, Canada email: dufourpa@astro.umontreal.ca
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Abstract

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Empirically characterizing the spectral evolution of cool white dwarfs is a prerequisite to understanding the physical processes that shape the evolution of these old objects. However, the high photospheric densities of cool helium-rich atmospheres seriously complicate the study of those stars. We have recently developed an updated atmosphere code that is appropriate for high densities and that can model any cool white dwarf (including DZs and DQpecs). Here, we present recent advances in our understanding of the spectral evolution of cool white dwarfs that were made possible thanks to these improved models. We discuss in particular the evolution of the hydrogen-rich to helium-rich ratio at low effective temperatures as well as the DQ→ DQpec transition.

Keywords

stars: abundancesstars: atmospheresstars: evolutionwhite dwarfs
Type
Contributed Papers
Information
Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union , Volume 15 , Symposium S357: White Dwarfs as Probes of Fundamental Physics: Tracers of Planetary, Stellar and Galactic Evolution , October 2019 , pp. 166 - 169
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© International Astronomical Union 2020

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