Helium-Core White Dwarfs in Globular Clusters
arXiv:astro-ph/0206035 · doi:10.1086/367827
Abstract
We examine the theoretical implications of a population of low-mass helium-core white dwarfs in globular clusters. In particular, we focus on the observed population in the core of NGC 6397, where several low-mass white dwarf canditates have been identified as ``non-flickerers'' by Cool and collaborators. Age and mass estimates from cooling models, combined with dynamical and evolutionary considerations, lead us to infer that the dark binary companions are C/O white dwarfs rather than neutron stars. Furthermore, we find that the progenitor binaries very likely underwent an exchange interaction within the last 1.e9 years. We examine the prospects for detecting a similar population in other globular clusters, with particular attention to the case of 47 Tuc.
30 pages, 9 postscript figures, submitted to ApJ
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- HST Observations of the White Dwarf Cooling Sequence of M4
- Stellar Exotica in 47 Tucanae
- Helium-Core White Dwarfs in the Globular Cluster NGC 6397
- Low-mass White Dwarfs with Hydrogen Envelopes as a Missing Link in the Tidal Disruption Menu
- Calcium-Rich Gap Transients: Tidal Detonations of White Dwarfs?
- White Dwarfs in NGC 6791: Avoiding the Helium Flash
- Discovery of more than two thousand white dwarfs in the globular cluster Omega Centauri
- On the Origin of X-ray Emission From Millisecond Pulsars in 47 Tuc
- Relativistic Binaries in Globular Clusters
- UV-Bright Stellar Populations and Their Evolutionary Implications in the Collapsed-Core Cluster M15
- Outliers: multicolour photometry guiding the search for evolved binary systems in the globular cluster 47 Tucanae
- Evolution of long-lived globular cluster stars IV. Initial helium content and white-dwarf properties
- Nuclear condensate and helium white dwarfs
- Discovery of a double white dwarf in the Galactic globular cluster NGC 6397