The age-metallicity relation in the solar neighbourhood from a pilot sample of white dwarf-main sequence binaries

Abstract

The age-metallicity relation (AMR) is a fundamental observational constraint for understanding how the Galactic disc formed and evolved chemically in time. However, there is not yet an agreement on the observational properties of the AMR for the solar neighbourhood, primarily due to the difficulty in obtaining accurate stellar ages for individual field stars. We have started an observational campaign for providing the much needed observational input by using wide white dwarf-main sequence (WDMS) binaries. White dwarfs are natural clocks and can be used to derive accurate ages. Metallicities can be obtained from the main sequence companions. Since the progenitors of white dwarfs and the main sequence stars were born at the same time, WDMS binaries provide a unique opportunity to observationally constrain in a robust way the properties of the AMR. In this work we present the AMR derived from analysing a pilot sample of 23 WDMS binaries and provide clear observational evidence for the lack of correlation between age and metallicity at young and intermediate ages (0-7 Gyrs).

Accepted for publication by MNRAS

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Cited by in corpus (11)

• $\text{Gaia}$ white dwarfs within 40 pc I: spectroscopic observations of new candidates
• White dwarf-main sequence binaries from Gaia EDR3: the unresolved 100pc volume-limited sample
• Random Forest identification of the thin disk, thick disk and halo Gaia-DR2 white dwarf population
• The population of white dwarf-main sequence binaries in the SDSS DR 12
• Constraining the solar neighbourhood age-metallicity relation from white dwarf-main sequence binaries
• The critical binary star separation for a planetary system origin of white dwarf pollution
• Testing MOdified Gravity (MOG) theory and dark matter model in Milky Way using the local observables
• The Impact of Stellar Migration on Disk Outskirts
• A GALEX view of the DA White Dwarf Population
• Analysis of Previously Classified White Dwarf-Main Sequence Binaries Using Data from the APOGEE Survey
• The effects of unresolved double-degenerates in the white dwarf luminosity function