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Ultra-massive white dwarfs are powerful tools used to study various physical processes in the asymptotic giant branch (AGB), type Ia supernova explosions, and the theory of crystallization through white dwarf asteroseismology. Despite the interest in these white dwarfs, there are few evolutionary studies in the literature devoted to them. Here we present new ultra-massive white dwarf evolutionary sequences that constitute an improvement over previous ones. In these new sequences we take into account for the first time the process of phase separation expected during the crystallization stage of these white dwarfs by relying on the most up-to-date phase diagram of dense oxygen/neon mixtures. Realistic chemical profiles resulting from the full computation of progenitor evolution during the semidegenerate carbon burning along the super-AGB phase are also considered in our sequences. Outer boundary conditions for our evolving models are provided by detailed non-gray white dwarf model atmospheres for hydrogen and helium composition. We assessed the impact of all these improvements on the evolutionary properties of ultra-massive white dwarfs, providing updated evolutionary sequences for these stars. We conclude that crystallization is expected to affect the majority of the massive white dwarfs observed with effective temperatures below 40 000 K. Moreover, the calculation of the phase separation process induced by crystallization is necessary to accurately determine the cooling age and the mass-radius relation of massive white dwarfs. We also provide colors in the Gaia photometric bands for our H-rich white dwarf evolutionary sequences on the basis of new model atmospheres. Finally, these new white dwarf sequences provide a new theoretical frame to perform asteroseismological studies on the recently detected ultra-massive pulsating white dwarfs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context. Classical novae are thermonuclear explosions hosted by accreting white dwarfs in stellar binary systems. Material piles up on top of the white dwarf star under mildly degenerate conditions, driving a thermonuclear runaway. The energy released by the suite of nuclear processes operating at the envelope, mostly proton-capture reactions and β+-decays, heats the material up to peak temperatures ranging from 100 to 400 MK. In these events, about 10-3-10-7 M☉, enriched in CNO and, sometimes, other intermediate-mass elements (e.g., Ne, Na, Mg, and Al) are ejected into the interstellar medium. Aims. To date, most of the efforts undertaken in the modeling of classical nova outbursts have focused on the early stages of the explosion and ejection, ignoring the interaction of the ejecta, first with the accretion disk orbiting the white dwarf and ultimately with the secondary star. Methods. A suite of 3D, smoothed-particle hydrodynamics (SPH) simulations of the interaction between the nova ejecta, accretion disk, and stellar companion were performed to fill this gap; these simulations were aimed at testing the influence of the model parameters-that is, the mass and velocity of the ejecta, mass and the geometry of the accretion disk-on the dynamical and chemical properties of the system. Results. We discuss the conditions that lead to the disruption of the accretion disk and to mass loss from the binary system. In addition, we discuss the likelihood of chemical contamination of the stellar secondary induced by the impact with the nova ejecta and its potential effect on the next nova cycle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent advances in time-domain astronomy have uncovered a new class of optical transients with time-scales shorter than typical supernovae and a wide range of peak luminosities. Several subtypes have been identified within this broad class, including Ca-rich transients, Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) and fast/bright transients. We examine the predictions from a state-of-the-art grid of three-dimensional simulations of dynamical white dwarf interactions in the context of these fast optical transients. We find that for collisions involving carbon–oxygen or oxygen–neon white dwarfs, the peak luminosities and durations of the light curves in our models are in good agreement with the properties of fast/bright transients. When one of the colliding white dwarfs is made of helium, the properties of the light curves are similar to those of Ca-rich gap transients. The model light curves from our white dwarf collisions are too slow to reproduce those of SNe Ia, and too fast to match any normal or peculiar SNe Ia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Isolated magnetic white dwarfs have field strengths ranging from G to G, and constitute an interesting class of objects. The origin of the magnetic field is still the subject of a hot debate. Whether these fields are fossil, hence the remnants of original weak magnetic fields amplified during the course of the evolution of the progenitor of white dwarfs, or on the contrary, are the result of binary interactions or, finally, other physical mechanisms that could produce such large magnetic fields during the evolution of the white dwarf itself, remains to be elucidated. In this work, we review the current status and paradigms of magnetic fields in white dwarfs, from both the theoretical and observational points of view. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context. White dwarfs are the fossils left by the evolution of low- and intermediate-mass stars, and have very long evolutionary timescales. This allows us to use them to explore the properties of old populations, like the Galactic halo. Aims. We present a population synthesis study of the luminosity function of halo white dwarfs, aimed at investigating which information can be derived from the currently available observed data. Methods. We employ an up-to-date population synthesis code based on Monte Carlo techniques, which incorporates the most recent and reliable cooling sequences for metal-poor progenitors as well as an accurate modeling of the observational biases. Results. We find that because the observed sample of halo white dwarfs is restricted to the brightest stars, only the hot branch of the white dwarf luminosity function can be used for these purposes, and that its shape function is almost insensitive to the most relevant inputs, such as the adopted cooling sequences, the initial mass function, the density profile of the stellar spheroid, or the adopted fraction of unresolved binaries. Moreover, since the cutoff of the observed luminosity has not yet been determined only the lower limits to the age of the halo population can be placed. Conclusions. We conclude that the current observed sample of the halo white dwarf population is still too small to obtain definite conclusions about the properties of the stellar halo, and the recently computed white dwarf cooling sequences, which incorporate residual hydrogen burning, should be assessed using metal-poor globular clusters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context. NGC 6397 is one of the most interesting, well-observed, and most thoroughly theoretically studied globular clusters. The existing wealth of observations allows us to study the reliability of the theoretical white dwarf cooling sequences of low-metallicity progenitors, to determine the age of NGC 6397 and the percentage of unresolved binaries. We also assess other important characteristics of the cluster, such as the slope of the initial mass function or the fraction of white dwarfs with hydrogen-deficient atmospheres. Aims. We present a population synthesis study of the white dwarf population of NGC 6397. In particular, we study the shape of the color-magnitude diagram and the corresponding magnitude and color distributions. Methods. To do this, we used an advanced Monte Carlo code that incorporates the most recent and reliable cooling sequences and an accurate modeling of the observational biases. Results. Our theoretical models and the observed data agree well. In particular, we find that this agreement is best for those cooling sequences that take into account residual hydrogen burning. This result has important consequences for the evolution of progenitor stars during the thermally pulsing asymptotic giant branch phase, since it implies that appreciable third dredge-up in low-mass, low-metallicity progenitors is not expected to occur. Using a standard burst duration of 1.0 Gyr, we obtain that the age of the cluster is 12.8+0.50 -0.75 Gyr. Greater ages are also compatible with the observed data, but then unrealistic longer durations of the initial burst of star formation are needed to fit the luminosity function. Conclusions. We conclude that a correct modeling of the white dwarf population of globular clusters, used in combination with the number counts of main-sequence stars, provides a unique tool for modeling the properties of globular clusters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We conduct numerical simulations of the interacting ejecta from an exploding CO white dwarf (WD) with a He WD donor in the double-detonation scenario for Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia), and study the possibility of exploding the companion WD. We also study the long time imprint of the collision on the supernova remnant. When the donor He WD has a low mass, MWD = 0.2M⊙, it is at a distance of ~0.08 R⊙ from the explosion, and helium is not ignited. The low-mass He WD casts an 'ejecta shadow' behind it. By evolving the ejecta for longer times, we find that the outer parts of the shadowed side are fainter and its boundary with the ambient gas is somewhat flat. More massive He WD donors, MWD ≃ 0.4M⊙, must be closer to the CO WD to transfer mass. At a distance of a ≃ 0.045R⊙ helium is detonated and the He WD explodes, leading to a triple detonation scenario. In the explosion of the donor WD approximately 0.15M⊙ of unburned helium is ejected. This might be observed as a peculiar Type Ib supernova. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We follow the mass expelled during the WD–WD merger process in a particular case of the double-degenerate (DD) scenario for Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia), and find that the interaction of the SN ejecta with the resulting wind affects the early (first day) light-curve in a way that may be in conflict with some SN Ia observations, if the detonation occurs shortly after the merger, i.e. (103 s ≲ texp ≲ 1 d). The main source of the expelled mass is a disc-wind, or jets that are launched by the accretion disc around the more massive white dwarf (WD) during the viscous phase of the merger. This disc-originated matter will be shocked and heated by the SN ejecta from an explosion, leading to additional radiation in the early light-curve. This enhanced early radiation could then be interpreted as an explosion originating from a progenitor having an inferred radius of one solar radius or more, in conflict with observations of SN 2011fe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context. 47 Tucanae is one of the most interesting, well-observed, and theoretically studied globular clusters. This allows us to determine the reliability of our understanding of white dwarf cooling sequences, to compare different methods of determining its age, and to assess other important characteristics, such as its star formation history. Aims. Here we present a population synthesis study of the cooling sequence of the globular cluster 47 Tucanae. In particular, we study the distribution of effective temperatures, the shape of the color-magnitude diagram, and the corresponding magnitude and color distributions. Methods. To do this, we used an up-to-date population synthesis code based on Monte Carlo techniques that incorporates the most recent and reliable cooling sequences and an accurate modeling of the observational biases. Results. Our theoretical models and the observed data agree well. Thus, our study disproves previous claims that there are still missing physics in the white dwarf cooling models at moderately high effective temperatures. We also derive the age of the cluster using the termination of the cooling sequence and obtain a good agreement with the age determinations made using the main-sequence turnoff. Finally, the star formation history of the cluster is compatible with that obtained using main-sequence stars, which predicts two distinct populations. Conclusions. We conclude that a correct modeling of the white dwarf population of globular clusters, used in combination with the number counts of main -sequence stars, provides a unique tool to model the properties of globular clusters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Context. It has been known for a long time that stellar metallicity plays a significant role in the determination of the ages of the different Galactic stellar populations, when main sequence evolutionary tracks are employed. Aims. Here, we analyze the role that metallicity plays on the white dwarf luminosity function of the Galactic disk, which is often used to determine its age. Methods. We employ a Monte Carlo population synthesis code that accounts for the properties of the population of Galactic disk white dwarfs. Our code incorporates the most up-to-date evolutionary cooling sequences for white dwarfs with hydrogen-rich and hydrogen-deficient atmospheres for both carbon-oxygen and oxygen-neon cores. We use two different models to assess the evolution of the metallicity: the first, where the adopted metallicity is constant with time but with a moderate dispersion, and the second where the metallicity increases with time. Results. We found that our theoretical results are in a very satisfactory agreement with the observational luminosity functions obtained from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and from the SuperCOSMOS Sky Survey (SSS). These results are independent of the adopted age-metallicity law. In particular, we found that the age-metallicity law has no noticeable impact in shaping the bright branch of the white dwarf luminosity function and that the position of its cut-off is almost insensitive to the adopted age-metallicity relationship. Conclusions. Because the shape of the bright branch of the white dwarf luminosity function is insensitive to the age-metallicity law, it can be safely employed to test the theoretical evolutionary sequences, while its location provides a robust indicator of the age of the Galactic disk due to the limited sensitivity of the position of the drop-off to the distribution of metallicities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context. Detached white dwarf + main sequence (WD+MS) systems represent the simplest population of post-common envelope binaries (PCEBs). Since the ensemble properties of this population carries important information about the characteristics of the common-envelope (CE) phase, it deserves close scrutiny. However, most population synthesis studies do not fully consider the effects of the observational selection biases of the samples used to compare with the theoretical simulations. Aims. Here we present the results of a set of detailed Monte Carlo simulations of the population of WD+MS binaries in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Data Release 7. Methods. We used up-to-date stellar evolutionary models, a complete treatment of the Roche lobe overflow episode, and a full implementation of the orbital evolution of the binary systems. Moreover, in our treatment we took the selection criteria and all the known observational biases into account. Results. Our population synthesis study allowed us to make a meaningful comparison with the available observational data. In particular, we examined the CE efficiency, the possible contribution of internal energy, and the initial mass ratio distribution (IMRD) of the binary systems. We find that our simulations correctly reproduce the properties of the observed distribution of WD+MS PCEBs. In particular, we find that once the observational biases are carefully considered, the distribution of orbital periods and of masses of the WD and MS stars can be correctly reproduced for several choices of the free parameters and different IMRDs, although models in which a moderate fraction (≤10%) of the internal energy is used to eject the CE and in which a low value of CE efficiency is used (≤0.3) seem to fit the observational data better. We also find that systems with He-core WDs are over-represented in the observed sample, because of selection effects. Conclusions. Although our study represents an important step forward in modeling the population of WD+MS PCEBs, the still scarce observational data preclude deriving a precise value of the several free parameters used to compute the CE phase without ambiguity or ascertaining which the correct IMRD might be. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) play a crucial role as standardizable cosmological candles, though the nature of their progenitors is a subject of active investigation. Recent observational and theoretical work has pointed to merging white dwarf binaries, referred to as the double-degenerate channel, as the possible progenitor systems for some SNe Ia. Additionally, recent theoretical work suggests that mergers which fail to detonate may produce magnetized, rapidly rotating white dwarfs. In this paper, we present the first multidimensional simulations of the post-merger evolution of white dwarf binaries to include the effect of the magnetic field. In these systems, the two white dwarfs complete a final merger on a dynamical timescale, and are tidally disrupted, producing a rapidly rotating white dwarf merger surrounded by a hot corona and a thick, differentially rotating disk. The disk is strongly susceptible to the magnetorotational instability (MRI), and we demonstrate that this leads to the rapid growth of an initially dynamically weak magnetic field in the disk, the spin-down of the white dwarf merger, and to the subsequent central ignition of the white dwarf merger. Additionally, these magnetized models exhibit new features not present in prior hydrodynamic studies of white dwarf mergers, including the development of MRI turbulence in the hot disk, magnetized outflows carrying a significant fraction of the disk mass, and the magnetization of the white dwarf merger to field strengths ∼2 × 108 G. We discuss the impact of our findings on the origins, circumstellar media, and observed properties of SNe Ia and magnetized white dwarfs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We argue that the multiple shells of circumstellar material (CSM) and the supernovae (SNe) ejecta interaction with the CSM starting 59 d after the explosion of the Type Ia SN PTF 11kx are best described by a violent prompt merger. In this prompt merger scenario, the common envelope (CE) phase is terminated by a merger of a white dwarf (WD) companion with the hot core of a massive asymptotic giant branch star. In most cases, the WD is disrupted and accreted on to the more massive core. However, in the rare cases, where the merger takes place when the WD is denser than the core, the core will be disrupted and accreted on to the cooler WD. In such cases, the explosion might occur with no appreciable delay, i.e. months to years after the termination of the CE phase. This, we propose, might be the evolutionary route that could lead to the explosion of PTF 11kx. This scenario can account for the very massive CSM within ∼1000 au of the exploding PTF 11kx star, for the presence of hydrogen, and for the presence of shells in the CSM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-field magnetic white dwarfs have been long suspected to be the result of stellar mergers. However, the nature of the coalescing stars and the precise mechanism that produces the magnetic field are still unknown. Here, we show that the hot, convective, differentially rotating corona present in the outer layers of the remnant of the merger of two degenerate cores can produce magnetic fields of the required strength that do not decay for long timescales. Using a state-of-the-artMonte Carlo simulator, we also show that the expected number of high-field magnetic white dwarfs produced in this way is consistent with that found in the solar neighborhood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Remarkable progress in the understanding of nova outbursts has been achieved through combined efforts in photometry, spectroscopy and numerical simulations. According to the thermonuclear runaway model, novae are powered by thermonuclear explosions in the hydrogen-rich envelopes transferred from a low-mass stellar companion onto a close white dwarf star. Extensive numerical simulations in 1-D have shown that the accreted envelopes attain peak temperatures ranging between 108 and 4 × 108 K, for about several hundred seconds, hence allowing extensive nuclear processing which eventually shows up in the form of nucleosynthetic fingerprints in the ejecta. Indeed, it has been claimed that novae can play a certain role in the enrichment of the interstellar medium through a number of intermediate-mass elements. This includes 17O, 15N, and 13C, systematically overproduced with respect to solar abundances, plus a lower contribution in a number of other species (A < 40), such as 7Li, 19F, or 26Al. At the turn of the XXI Century, classical novae have entered the era of multidimensional models, which provide a new insight into the physical mechanisms that drive mixing at the core-envelope interface.In this review, we will present hydrodynamic models of classical novae, from the onset of accretion up to the explosion and ejection stages, both for classical and recurrent novae, with special emphasis on their gross observational properties and their associated nucleosynthesis. The impact of nuclear uncertainties on the final yields will be discussed. Recent results from 2-D models of mixing during classical nova outbursts will also be presented. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

I review our current understanding of the evolution of stars which experience carbon burning under conditions of partial electron degeneracy and ultimately become thermally pulsing “super” asymptotic giant branch (SAGB) stars with electron-degenerate cores composed primarily of oxygen and neon. The range in stellar mass over which this occurs is very narrow and the interior evolutionary characteristics vary rapidly over this range. Consequently, while those stars with larger masses (~11 M⊙) are likely to undergo electron-capture accretion induced collapse, those models with smaller masses (8.5 ≲ M/M⊙ ≲ 10.5) will presumably form massive (M ≳ 1.1 M⊙) white dwarfs. The final outcome depends sensitively on the adopted mass-loss rates, the chemical composition of the massive envelopes, and on the adopted prescription for convective mixing. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

LISA Pathfinder is a science and technology demonstrator of the European Space Agency within the framework of its LISA mission, which aims to be the first space-borne gravitational wave observatory. The payload of LISA Pathfinder is the so-called LISA Technology Package, which is designed to measure relative accelerations between two test masses in nominal free fall. Its disturbances are monitored and dealt by the diagnostics subsystem. This subsystem consists of several modules, and one of these is the magnetic diagnostics system, which includes a set of four tri-axial fluxgate magnetometers, intended to measure with high precision the magnetic field at the positions of the test masses. However, since the magnetometers are located far from the positions of the test masses, the magnetic field at their positions must be interpolated. It has been recently shown that because there are not enough magnetic channels, classical interpolation methods fail to derive reliable measurements at the positions of the test masses, while neural network interpolation can provide the required measurements at the desired accuracy. In this paper we expand these studies and we assess the reliability and robustness of the neural network interpolation scheme for variations of the locations and possible offsets of the magnetometers, as well as for changes in environmental conditions. We find that neural networks are robust enough to derive accurate measurements of the magnetic field at the positions of the test masses in most circumstances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

White dwarf stars are the final evolutionary stage of the vast majority of stars, including our Sun. Since the coolest white dwarfs are very old objects, the present population of white dwarfs contains a wealth of information on the evolution of stars from birth to death, and on the star formation rate throughout the history of our Galaxy. Thus, the study of white dwarfs has potential applications in different fields of astrophysics. In particular, white dwarfs can be used as independent reliable cosmic clocks, and can also provide valuable information about the fundamental parameters of a wide variety of stellar populations, such as our Galaxy and open and globular clusters. In addition, the high densities and temperatures characterizing white dwarfs allow these stars to be used as cosmic laboratories for studying physical processes under extreme conditions that cannot be achieved in terrestrial laboratories. Last but not least, since many white dwarf stars undergo pulsational instabilities, the study of their properties constitutes a powerful tool for applications beyond stellar astrophysics. In particular, white dwarfs can be used to constrain fundamental properties of elementary particles such as axions and neutrinos and to study problems related to the variation of fundamental constants. These potential applications of white dwarfs have led to renewed interest in the calculation of very detailed evolutionary and pulsational models for these stars. In this work, we review the essentials of the physics of white dwarf stars. We enumerate the reasons that make these stars excellent chronometers, and we describe why white dwarfs provide tools for a wide variety of applications. Special emphasis is placed on the physical processes that lead to the formation of white dwarfs as well as on the different energy sources and processes responsible for chemical abundance changes that occur along their evolution. Moreover, in the course of their lives, white dwarfs cross different pulsational instability strips. The existence of these instability strips provides astronomers with a unique opportunity to peer into their internal structure that would otherwise remain hidden from observers. We will show that this allows one to measure stellar masses with unprecedented precision and to infer their envelope thicknesses, to probe the core chemical stratification, and to detect rotation rates and magnetic fields. Consequently, in this work, we also review the pulsational properties of white dwarfs and the most recent applications of white dwarf asteroseismology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The disc white dwarf luminosity function is an important tool for studying the solar neighbourhood, since it allows the determination of several Galactic parameters, the most important one being the age of the Galactic disc. However, only the method has been employed so far for observationally determining the white dwarf luminosity function, whereas for other kind of luminosity functions several other methods have been frequently used. Moreover, the procedures to determine the white dwarf luminosity function are not free of biases. These biases have two different origins: they can either be of statistical nature or a consequence of the measurement errors. In a previous paper we carried out an in-depth study of the first category of biases for several luminosity function estimators. In this paper we focus on the biases introduced by the measurement errors and on the effects of the degree of contamination of the input sample used to build the disc white dwarf luminosity function by different kinematical populations. To assess the extent of these biases we use a Monte Carlo simulator to generate a controlled synthetic population and analyse the behaviour of the disc white dwarf luminosity function for several assumptions about the magnitude of the measurement errors and for several degrees of contamination, comparing the performances of the most robust luminosity function estimators under such conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The white dwarf luminosity function is an important tool for the study of the solar neighbourhood, since it allows the determination of the age of the Galactic disc. Over the years, several methods have been proposed to compute galaxy luminosity functions, from the most simple ones – counting sample objects inside a given volume – to very sophisticated ones – like the C− method, the STY method or the Choloniewski method, among others. However, only the method is usually employed in computing the white dwarf luminosity function and other methods have not been applied so far to the observational sample of spectroscopically identified white dwarfs – in sharp contrast with the situation when galaxy luminosity functions are derived from a large variety of samples. Moreover, the statistical significance of the white dwarf luminosity function has also received little attention and a thorough study still remains to be done. In this paper, we study, using a controlled synthetic sample of white dwarfs generated using a Monte Carlo simulator, which is the statistical significance of the white dwarf luminosity function and which are the expected biases. We also present a comparison between different estimators for computing the white dwarf luminosity function. We find that for sample sizes large enough the method provides a reliable characterization of the white dwarf luminosity function, provided that the input sample is selected carefully. Particularly, the method recovers well the position of the cut-off of the white dwarf luminosity function. However, this method turns out to be less robust than the Choloniewski method when the possible incompletenesses of the sample are taken into account. We also find that the Choloniewski method performs better than the method in estimating the overall density of white dwarfs, but misses the exact location of the cut-off of the white dwarf luminosity function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gaia is the most ambitious space astrometry mission currently envisaged and it will be a technological challenge in all its aspects. Here we describe a proposal for the data compression system of Gaia, specifically designed for this mission but based on concepts that can be applied to other missions and systems as well. Realistic simulations have been performed with our Telemetry CODEC software, which performs a stream partitioning and pre-compression to the science data. In this way, standard compressors such as or boost their performance and decrease their processing requirements when applied to such pre-processed data. These simulations have shown that a lossless compression factor of 3 can be achieved, whereas standard compression systems were unable to reach a factor of 2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the most promising space missions of the European Space Agency is the astrometric satellite Gaia, which will provide very precise astrometry and multicolour photometry, for all 1.3 billion objects to , and radial velocities with accuracies of a few km s−1 for most stars brighter than . Consequently, full homogeneous six-dimensional phase-space information for a huge number of stars will become available. Our Monte Carlo simulator has been used to estimate the number of white dwarfs potentially observable by Gaia. From this we assess the white dwarf luminosity functions that Gaia will obtain and discuss in depth the scientific returns of Gaia in the specific field of white dwarf populations. Scientifically attainable goals include, among others, a reliable determination of the age of the Galactic disc, a better knowledge of the halo of the Milky Way and the reconstruction of the star formation history of the Galactic disc. Our results also demonstrate the potential impact of a mission such as Gaia within the context of current understanding of white dwarf cooling theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT There is growing observational evidence that the irregular changes in the light curves of certain variable stars might be due to deterministic chaos. Supporting these conclusions, several simple models of non-linear oscillators have been shown to be capable of reproducing the observed complex behaviour. In this paper, we introduce a non-linear, non-adiabatic one-zone model intended to reveal the factors leading to irregular luminosity variations in some pulsating stars. We have studied and characterized the dynamical behaviour of the oscillator as the input parameters are varied. The parametric study implied values corresponding to stellar models in the family of long period variables and in particular of Mira-type stars. We draw attention to certain solutions that reproduce with reasonable accuracy the observed behaviour of some peculiar Mira variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The interpretation of the old, cool white dwarfs recently found by Oppenheimer et al. is still controversial. Whereas these authors claim that they have finally found the elusive ancient-halo white dwarf population that contributes significantly to the mass budget of the galactic halo, there have been several other contributions that argue that these white dwarfs are not genuine halo members but, instead, thick-disc stars. We show here that the interpretation of this sample is based on the adopted distances, which are obtained from a colour–magnitude calibration, and we demonstrate that when the correct distances are used a sizeable fraction of these putative halo white dwarfs belong indeed to the disc population. We also perform a maximum likelihood analysis of the remaining set of white dwarfs and we find that they most probably belong to the thick-disc population. However, another possible explanation is that this sample of white dwarfs has been drawn from a 1:1 mixture of the halo and disc white dwarf populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we analyse the consequences in the white dwarf population of a hypothetical merger episode in our Galactic disc. We have studied several different merging scenarios with our Monte Carlo simulator. For each one of these scenarios we have derived the main characteristics of the resulting white dwarf population and we have compared them with the available observational data, namely the white dwarf luminosity function and the kinematic properties of the white dwarf population. Our results indicate that very recent (less than ∼6 Gyr ago) and massive (∼16 per cent of the mass of our Galaxy) merger episodes are quite unlikely in view of the available kinematical properties of the disc white dwarf population. Smaller merger episodes (of the order of ∼4 per cent of the mass of our Galaxy) are, however, compatible with our current knowledge of those kinematical properties. Finally, we prove that the white dwarf luminosity function is quite insensitive to such a merger episode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Classical novae are thermonuclear explosions in binary stellar systems containing a white dwarf accreting material from a close companion star. They repeatedly eject 10?4-10?5 solar masses of nucleosynthetically enriched gas into the interstellar medium, recurring on intervals of decades to tens of millennia. They are probably the main sources of Galactic 15N, 17O and 13C. The origin of the large enhancements and inhomogeneous distribution of these species observed in high-resolution spectra of ejected nova shells has, however, remained unexplained for almost half a century. Several mechanisms, including mixing by diffusion, shear or resonant gravity waves, have been proposed in the framework of one-dimensional or two-dimensional simulations, but none has hitherto proven successful because convective mixing can only be modelled accurately in three dimensions. Here we report the results of a three-dimensional nuclear-hydrodynamic simulation of mixing at the core-envelope interface during nova outbursts. We show that buoyant fingering drives vortices from the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability, which inevitably enriches the accreted envelope with material from the outer white-dwarf core. Such mixing also naturally produces large-scale chemical inhomogeneities. Both the metallicity enhancement and the intrinsic dispersions in the abundances are consistent with the observed values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

NGC 6791 is a well studied open cluster that it is so close to us that can be imaged down to very faint luminosities. The main-sequence turn-off age (∼8 Gyr) and the age derived from the termination of the white dwarf cooling sequence (∼6 Gyr) are very different. One possible explanation is that as white dwarfs cool, one of the ashes of helium burning, 22Ne, sinks in the deep interior of these stars. At lower temperatures, white dwarfs are expected to crystallize and phase separation of the main constituents of the core of a typical white dwarf (12C and 16O) is expected to occur. This sequence of events is expected to introduce long delays in the cooling times, but has not hitherto been proven. Here we report that, as theoretically anticipated, physical separation processes occur in the cores of white dwarfs, resolving the age discrepancy for NGC 6791. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

White dwarfs are natural cosmochronometers, and this allows us to use them to study relevant properties of the Galaxy, such as its age or its star formation rate history. Here we present a population synthesis study of the white dwarf population within 40 pc from the Sun, and compare the results of this study with the properties of the observed sample. We use a state-of-the-art population synthesis code based on Monte Carlo techniques that incorporates the most recent and reliable white dwarf cooling sequences, an accurate description of the Galactic neighborhood, and a realistic treatment of all the known observational biases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]