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Optical spectroscopy of candidate Alpha Persei white dwarfs
Citation
Casewell, SL and Dobbie, PD and Geier, S and Lodieu, N and Hambly, NC, Optical spectroscopy of candidate Alpha Persei white dwarfs, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 451, (4) pp. 4259-4265. ISSN 0035-8711 (2015) [Refereed Article]
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Copyright Statement
Copyright 2015 The Authors. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.
DOI: doi:10.1093/mnras/stv1280
Abstract
As part of an investigation into the high-mass end of the initial mass–final mass relation we performed a search for new white
dwarf members of the nearby (172.4 pc), young (80–90 Myr) α Persei open star cluster. The photometric and astrometric search
using the United Kingdom InfraRed Telescope (UKIRT) Infrared Deep Sky Survey and SuperCOSMOS sky surveys discovered 14 new
white dwarf candidates. We have obtained medium resolution optical spectra of the brightest 11 candidates using the William
Herschel Telescope and confirmed that while 7 are DA white dwarfs, 3 are DB white dwarfs and 1 is an sdOB star, only three
have cooling ages within the cluster age, and from their position on the initial mass–final mass relation, it is likely none
are cluster members. This result is disappointing, as recent work on the cluster mass function suggests that there should
be at least one white dwarf member, even at this young age. It may be that any white dwarf members of α Per are hidden within
binary systems, as is the case in the Hyades cluster, however the lack of high-mass stars within the cluster also makes this
seem unlikely. One alternative is that a significant level of detection incompleteness in the legacy optical image survey
data at this Galactic latitude has caused some white dwarf members to be overlooked. If this is the case, Gaia will find them.
Item Details
Item Type: | Refereed Article |
---|---|
Keywords: | white dwarfs |
Research Division: | Physical Sciences |
Research Group: | Astronomical sciences |
Research Field: | Galactic astronomy |
Objective Division: | Expanding Knowledge |
Objective Group: | Expanding knowledge |
Objective Field: | Expanding knowledge in the physical sciences |
UTAS Author: | Dobbie, PD (Dr Paul Dobbie) |
ID Code: | 105920 |
Year Published: | 2015 |
Web of Science® Times Cited: | 3 |
Deposited By: | Mathematics and Physics |
Deposited On: | 2016-01-20 |
Last Modified: | 2016-06-01 |
Downloads: | 132 View Download Statistics |
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