Cooling white dwarfs in galactic globulars

Details Cooling white dwarfs in galactic globulars Cooling white dwarfs in galactic globulars

Mar 1994

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1994apj...423..266c&link_type=abstract

The Astrophysical Journal, Part 1 (ISSN 0004-637X), vol. 423, no. 1, p. 266-273

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astrophysics

11

Astronomical Models, Globular Clusters, Horizontal Branch Stars, White Dwarf Stars, Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram, Metallicity, Stellar Interiors, Stellar Luminosity

Scientific paper

We study the evolution of hot horizontal-branch models which miss the asymptotic branch (AGB) phase to produce 'low-mass' white dwarfs (WDs) with masses of the order of 0.5 solar mass. One finds that for each given metallicity there exists a maximum value for the mass of the H-rich envelope allowing the models to approach the cooling phase without the onset of CNO H-burning flashes; the larger the metallicity, the lower the mass of such a 'critical envelope.' Moreover, we find that above log L is approximately 1 the cooling rate appears drastically affected by the previous evolutionary history, allowing a meaningful discussion of the cooling laws only below such a luminosity. The dependence of the cooling rates on the mass of the H-rich envelope is investigated for suitable assumptions about the value of this parameter, discussing the contribution of both CNO and p-p H burning to the evolution. The investigation has been further extended to stars with larger He cores, showing that the final cooling structures closely approach available evaluations of post-AGB CO dwarfs, as the result of a convergence toward 'canonical' self-consistent WD structrues. On this basis, we discuss the influence of WD masses on both the cooling rate and the H-R diagram location of the cooling sequence. The application of this theoretical scenario to the WD population in stellar clusters is finally discussed.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

No associations

Rating

Cooling white dwarfs in galactic globulars does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with Cooling white dwarfs in galactic globulars, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Cooling white dwarfs in galactic globulars will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1870535