Abstract: Context. White dwarfs are nowadays routinely used as reliable cosmochronometers, allowing several stellar populations to be dated.Aims. We present new white dwarf evolutionary sequences for low-metallicity progenitors. This is motivated by the recent finding that residual H burning in low-mass white dwarfs resulting from Z = 0.0001 progenitors is the main energy source over a significant part of their evolution.Methods. White dwarf sequences have been derived from full evolutionary calculations that take the entire history of progenitor stars into account, including the thermally pulsing and the post-asymptotic giant branch (AGB) phases.Results. We show that for progenitor metallicities in the range 0.00003 ≲ Z ≲ 0.001, and in the absence of carbon enrichment from the occurrence of a third dredge-up episode, the resulting H envelope of the low-mass white dwarfs is thick enough to make stable H burning the most important energy source even at low luminosities. This has a significant impact on white dwarf cooling times. This result is independent of the adopted mass-loss rate during the thermally-pulsing and post-AGB phases and in the planetary nebulae stage.Conclusions. We conclude that in the absence of third dredge-up episodes, a significant part of the evolution of low-mass white dwarfs resulting from low-metallicity progenitors is dominated by stable H burning. Our study opens the possibility of using the observed white dwarf luminosity function of low-metallicity globular clusters to constrain the efficiency of third dredge up episodes during the thermally-pulsing AGB phase of low-metallicity progenitors.

Abstract: Context. White dwarfs are nowadays routinely used as reliable cosmochronometers, allowing to date several stellar populations. Aims. We present new white dwarf evolutionary sequences for low-metallicity progenitors. This is motivated by the recent finding that residual H burning in low-mass white dwarfs resulting from Z = 0.0001 progenitors is the main energy source over a significant part of their evolution. Methods. White dwarf sequences have been derived from full evolutionary calculations that take into account the entire history of progenitor stars, including the thermally-pulsing and the post-asymptotic gia nt branch phases. Results. We show that for progenitor metallicities in the range 0.00003. Z. 0.001, and in the absence of carbon enrichment due to the occurrence of a third dredge-up episode, the resulting H envelope of the low-mass white dwarfs is thick enough to make stable H burning the most important energy source even at low luminosities. This has a significant impact on white dwarf cooling times. This result is independent of the adopted mass-loss rate during the thermally-pulsing and post-AGB phases, and the planetary nebulae stage. Conclusions. We conclude that in the absence of third dredge-up episodes, a significa nt part of the evolution of low-mass white dwarfs resulting from low-metallicity progenitors is dominated by stable H burning. Our study opens the possibility of using the observed white dwarf luminosity function of low-metallicity globular clusters to constrain th e effi ciency of third dredge up episodes during the thermally-pulsing AGB phase of low-metallicity progenitors.

Abstract: We present the first radiation magnetohydrodynamic simulations of the atmosphere of white dwarf stars. We demonstrate that convective energy transfer is seriously impeded by magnetic fields when the plasma-β parameter, the thermal-to-magnetic-pressure ratio, becomes smaller than unity. The critical field strength that inhibits convection in the photosphere of white dwarfs is in the range B = 1–50 kG, which is much smaller than the typical 1–1000 MG field strengths observed in magnetic white dwarfs, implying that these objects have radiative atmospheres. We have employed evolutionary models to study the cooling process of high-field magnetic white dwarfs, where convection is entirely suppressed during the full evolution (B gsim 10 MG). We find that the inhibition of convection has no effect on cooling rates until the effective temperature (Teff) reaches a value of around 5500 K. In this regime, the standard convective sequences start to deviate from the ones without convection due to the convective coupling between the outer layers and the degenerate reservoir of thermal energy. Since no magnetic white dwarfs are currently known at the low temperatures where this coupling significantly changes the evolution, the effects of magnetism on cooling rates are not expected to be observed. This result contrasts with a recent suggestion that magnetic white dwarfs with Teff lesssim 10,000 K cool significantly slower than non-magnetic degenerates.

Abstract: We present the serendipitous discovery of eclipse-like events around the massive white dwarf SDSS J152934.98+292801.9 (hereafter J1529+2928). We selected J1529+2928 for time-series photometry based on its spectroscopic temperature and surface gravity, which place it near the ZZ Ceti instability strip. Instead of pulsations, we detect photometric dips from this white dwarf every 38 minutes. Follow-up optical spectroscopy observations with Gemini reveal no significant radial velocity variations, ruling out stellar and brown dwarf companions. A disintegrating planet around this white dwarf cannot explain the observed light curves in different filters. Given the short period, the source of the photometric dips must be a dark spot that comes into view every 38 min due to the rotation of the white dwarf. Our optical spectroscopy does not show any evidence of Zeeman splitting of the Balmer lines, limiting the magnetic field strength to B<70 kG. Since up to 15% of white dwarfs display kG magnetic fields, such eclipse-like events should be common around white dwarfs. We discuss the potential implications of this discovery on transient surveys targeting white dwarfs, like the K2 mission and the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope.

Abstract: As galaxy simulations increase in resolution more attention is being paid towards the evolution of dwarf galaxies and how the simulations compare to observations. Despite this increasing resolution we are however, far away from resolving the interactions of satellite dwarf galaxies and the hot coronae which surround host galaxies. We describe a new method which focuses only on the local region surrounding an infalling dwarf in an effort to understand how the hot baryonic halo will alter the chemodynamical evolution of dwarf galaxies. Using this method we examine how a dwarf, similar to Sextans dwarf spheroidal, evolves in the corona of a Milky Way like galaxy. We find that even at high perigalacticons the synergistic interaction between ram pressure and tidal forces transform a dwarf into a stream, suggesting that Sextans was much more massive in the past in order survive its perigalacticon passage. In addition the large confining pressure of the hot corona allows gas that was originally at the outskirts to begin forming stars, initially forming stars of low metallicity compared to the dwarf evolved in isolation. This increase in star formation eventually allows a dwarf galaxy to form more metal rich stars compared to one in isolation, but only if the dwarf retains gas for a sufficiently long period of time. In addition, dwarfs which formed substantial numbers of stars post-infall will have a slightly elevated [Mg/Fe] at high metallicity ([Fe/H] -1.5).

Abstract: Dwarf Galaxies are the most common objects in the Universe and are believed to contain large amounts of dark matter. There are mainly three morphologic types of dwarf galaxies: dwarf ellipticals, dwarf spheroidals and dwarf irregulars. Dwarf irregular galaxies are particularly interesting in dwarf galaxy evolution, since dwarf spheroidal predecessors could have been very similar to them. Therefore, a mechanism linked to gas-loss in dwarf irregulars should be observed, i.e. ram pressure stripping. In this paper, we study the interaction between the ISM of a dwarf galaxy and a flowing IGM. We derive the weak-shock, plasmon solution corresponding to the balance between the post-bow shock pressure and the pressure of the stratified ISM (which we assume follows the fixed stratification of a gravitationally dominant dark matter halo). We compare our model with previously published numerical simulations and with the observed shape of the HI cloud around the Ho II and Pegasus dwarf irregular galaxies. We show that such a comparison provides a straightforward way for estimating the Mach number of the impinging flow.

Abstract: We present Hubble Space Telescope UV spectra of the 4.6-h-period double white dwarf SDSS J125733.63+542850.5. Combined with Sloan Digital Sky Survey optical data, these reveal that the massive white dwarf (secondary) has an effective temperature T2 = 13 030 ± 70 ± 150 K and a surface gravity log g2 = 8.73 ± 0.05 ± 0.05 (statistical and systematic uncertainties, respectively), leading to a mass of M2 = 1.06 M⊙. The temperature of the extremely low-mass white dwarf (primary) is substantially lower at T1 = 6400 ± 37 ± 50 K, while its surface gravity is poorly constrained by the data. The relative flux contribution of the two white dwarfs across the spectrum provides a radius ratio of R1/R2 ≃ 4.2, which, together with evolutionary models, allows us to calculate the cooling ages. The secondary massive white dwarf has a cooling age of ∼1 Gyr, while that of the primary low-mass white dwarf is likely to be much longer, possibly ≳5 Gyr, depending on its mass and the strength of chemical diffusion. These results unexpectedly suggest that the low-mass white dwarf formed long before the massive white dwarf, a puzzling discovery which poses a paradox for binary evolution.

Abstract: Generic scalar-tensor theories of gravity predict deviations from Newtonian physics inside astrophysical bodies. In this paper, we point out that low mass stellar objects, red and brown dwarf stars, are excellent probes of these theories. We calculate two important and potentially observable quantities: the radius of brown dwarfs and the minimum mass for hydrogen burning in red dwarfs. The brown dwarf radius can differ significantly from the general relativity prediction, and upcoming surveys that probe the mass-radius relation for stars with masses $l\mathcal{O}(0.1{M}_{\ensuremath{\bigodot}})$ have the potential to place new constraints. The minimum mass for hydrogen burning can be larger than several presently observed red dwarf stars. This places a new and extremely stringent constraint on the parameters that appear in the effective field theory of dark energy and rules out several well-studied dark energy models.

Abstract: We propose that there is an evolutionary link between ultra-compact blue dwarf galaxies (UCBDs) with active star formation and nucleated dwarfs based on the results of numerical simulations of dwarf-dwarf merging. We consider the observational fact that low-mass dwarfs can be very gas-rich, and thereby investigate the dynamical and chemical evolution of very gas-rich, dissipative dwarf-dwarf mergers. We find that the remnants of dwarf-dwarf mergers can be dominated by new stellar populations formed from the triggered starbursts and consequently can have blue colors and higher metallicities (Z~[0.2-1]Z_sun). We also find that the remnants of these mergers can have rather high mass-densities (10^4 M_sun pc^-3) within the central 10 pc and small half-light radii (40-100 pc). The radial stellar structures of some merger remnants are similar to those of nucleated dwarfs. Star formation can continue in nuclear gas disks (R<100 pc) surrounding stellar galactic nuclei (SGNs) so that the SGNs can finally have multiple stellar populations with different ages and metallicities. These very compact blue remnants can be identified as UCBDs soon after merging and as nucleated dwarfs after fading of young stars. We discuss these results in the context of the origins of metal-rich ultra-compact dwarfs (UCDs) and SGNs.

Abstract: We discuss how knowledge of the whole evolutionary history of dwarf galaxies, including details on the early star formation events, can provide insight on the origin of the different dwarf galaxy types. We suggest that these types may be imprinted by the early conditions of formation rather than only being the result of a recent morphological transformation driven by environmental effects. We present precise star formation histories of a sample of Local Group dwarf galaxies, derived from color-magnitude diagrams reaching the oldest main-sequence turnoffs. We argue that these galaxies can be assigned to two basic types: fast dwarfs that started their evolution with a dominant and short star formation event and slow dwarfs that formed a small fraction of their stars early and have continued forming stars until the present time (or almost). These two different evolutionary paths do not map directly onto the present-day morphology (dwarf spheroidal versus dwarf irregular). Slow and fast dwarfs also differ in their inferred past location relative to the Milky Way and/or M31, which hints that slow dwarfs were generally assembled in lower-density environments than fast dwarfs. We propose that the distinction between a fast and slow dwarf galaxy primarily reflects the characteristic density of the environment where they form. At a later stage, interaction with a large host galaxy may play a role in the final gas removal and ultimate termination of star formation. Based on observations made with the NASA/ESA HST, which is operated by the AURA, under NASA contract NAS5-26555. Observations associated with programs #8706, #10505, and #10590.

Abstract: Metal pollution in white dwarf atmospheres is commonly assumed to be a signature of remnant planetary systems. Most explanations for this pollution predict a sharp decrease in the number of polluted systems with white dwarf cooling age. Observations do not confirm this trend, and metal pollution in old (1–5 Gyr) white dwarfs is difficult to explain. We propose an alternative, time-independent mechanism to produce the white dwarf pollution. The orbit of a wide binary companion can be perturbed by Galactic tides, approaching close to the primary star for the first time after billions of years of evolution on the white dwarf branch. We show that such a close approach perturbs a planetary system orbiting the white dwarf, scattering planetesimals on to star-grazing orbits, in a manner that could pollute the white dwarf's atmosphere. Our estimates find that this mechanism is likely to contribute to metal pollution, alongside other mechanisms, in up to a few per cent of an observed sample of white dwarfs with wide binary companions, independent of white dwarf age. This age independence is the key difference between this wide binary mechanism and others mechanisms suggested in the literature to explain white dwarf pollution. Current observational samples are not large enough to assess whether this mechanism makes a significant contribution to the population of polluted white dwarfs, for which better constraints on the wide binary population are required, such as those that will be obtained in the near future with Gaia.

Abstract: The cool white dwarf SDSS J124231.07+522626.6 exhibits photospheric absorption lines of eight distinct heavy elements in medium resolution optical spectra, notably including oxygen. The Teff = 13 000 K atmosphere is helium-dominated, but the convection zone contains significant amounts of hydrogen and oxygen. The four most common rock-forming elements (O, Mg, Si, and Fe) account for almost all the accreted mass, totalling at least 1.2 × 1024 g, similar to the mass of Ceres. The time-averaged accretion rate is 2 × 1010 g s−1, one of the highest rates inferred among all known metal-polluted white dwarfs. We note a large oxygen excess, with respect to the most common metal oxides, suggesting that the white dwarf accreted planetary debris with a water content of ≈38 per cent by mass. This star, together with GD 61, GD 16, and GD 362, form a small group of outliers from the known population of evolved planetary systems accreting predominantly dry, rocky debris. This result strengthens the hypothesis that, integrated over the cooling ages of white dwarfs, accretion of water-rich debris from disrupted planetesimals may significantly contribute to the build-up of trace hydrogen observed in a large fraction of helium-dominated white dwarf atmospheres.