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    The Spectral Evolution of Convective Mixing White Dwarfs, the Non-DA Gap, and White Dwarf Cosmochronology

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    Date
    2012-07
    Author
    Chen, E. Y.
    Hansen, B. M. S.
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    Abstract
    The spectral distribution of field white dwarfs shows a feature called the "non-DA gap." As defined by Bergeron et al., this is a temperature range (5100-6100 K) where relatively few non-DA stars are found, even though such stars are abundant on either side of the gap. It is usually viewed as an indication that a significant fraction of white dwarfs switch their atmospheric compositions back and forth between hydrogen-rich and helium-rich as they cool. In this Letter, we present a Monte Carlo model of the Galactic disk white dwarf population, based on the spectral evolution model of Chen and Hansen. We find that the non-DA gap emerges naturally, even though our model only allows white dwarf atmospheres to evolve monotonically from hydrogen-rich to helium-rich through convective mixing. We conclude by discussing the effects of convective mixing on the white dwarf luminosity function and the use thereof for Cosmochronology.
    Department
    Astronomy
    Subject
    galaxy: evolution
    methods: numerical
    white dwarfs
    luminosity function
    cooling sequence
    galactic disk
    age
    atmospheres
    helium
    mass
    diffusion
    stars
    astronomy & astrophysics
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/2152/43011
    xmlui.dri2xhtml.METS-1.0.item-citation
    Chen, Eugene Y., and Brad MS Hansen. "The Spectral Evolution of Convective Mixing White Dwarfs, the Non-DA Gap, and White Dwarf Cosmochronology." The Astrophysical Journal Letters, Vol. 753, No. 1 (Jul., 2012): L16.
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