Ensemble Evolutionary Studies of White Dwarfs in Open Star Clusters

Abstract

White dwarfs (WDs) in open star clusters are a highly useful ensemble of stars. While numerous researchers use open cluster WDs to study the initial-final mass relation, numerous other evolutionary studies are also enabled by this sample of stars, including searches for stochastic mass loss, studies of binary star evolution, and measurements of metallicity impacts on WD formation and evolution. However, it is crucial to use astrometric data such as proper motions to remove contaminating field WDs from open cluster samples; multi-epoch ground based imaging is needed for most open cluster WDs. Also, the strongly correlated errors in the initial mass - final mass plane must be considered; we illustrate the importance of this consideration using a large open cluster WD sample and Monte Carlo techniques.

5 pages, 2 figures. Accepted to appear in the proceedings of IAU Symposium 357: White dwarfs as probes of fundamental physics and tracers of planetary, stellar, & galactic evolution. Modified slightly from the original IAUS submission to fix most egregious typographical errors

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Cited by in corpus (1)

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