Ultra low-mass and small-radius white dwarfs made of heavy elements

Abstract

Seven ultra low-mass and small-radius white dwarfs (LSPM J0815+1633, LP 240-30, BD+20 5125B, LP 462-12, WD J1257+5428, 2MASS J13453297+4200437, and SDSS J085557.46+053524.5) have been recently identified with masses ranging from $\sim$0.02 $M_{\odot }$ to $\sim$0.08 $M_{\odot }$ and radii from $\sim$ 4270 km to 10670 km. The mass-radius measurements of these white dwarfs pose challenges to traditional white dwarf models assuming they are mostly made of nuclei lighter than ${}^{56}$Fe. In this work we consider the possibility that those white dwarfs are made of heavier elements. Due to the small charge-to-mass ratios in heavy elements, the electron number density in white dwarf matter is effectively reduced, which reduces the pressure with additional contributions of lattice energy and electron polarization corrections. This consequently leads to white dwarfs with much smaller masses and radii, which coincide with the seven ultra low-mass and small-radius white dwarfs. The corresponding equation of state and matter contents of dense stellar matter with and without reaching the cold-catalyzed ground state are presented, which are obtained using the latest Atomic Mass Evaluation (AME 2020). Further observations are necessary to unveil the actual matter contents in those white dwarfs via, e.g., spectroscopy, asteroseismology, and discoveries of other ultra low-mass and small-radius white dwarfs.

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• Compact dwarfs made of light-quark nuggets