Bibcode
Brown, W. R.; Gianninas, A.; Kilic, M.; Kenyon, S. J.; Allende Prieto, C.
Bibliographical reference
The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 818, Issue 2, article id. 155, 13 pp. (2016).
Advertised on:
2
2016
Journal
Citations
99
Refereed citations
90
Description
We present the discovery of 15 extremely low-mass (5\lt {log}g\lt 7)
white dwarf (WD) candidates, 9 of which are in ultra-compact
double-degenerate binaries. Our targeted extremely low-mass Survey
sample now includes 76 binaries. The sample has a lognormal distribution
of orbital periods with a median period of 5.4 hr. The velocity
amplitudes imply that the binary companions have a normal distribution
of mass with 0.76 M⊙ mean and 0.25 M⊙
dispersion. Thus extremely low-mass WDs are found in binaries with a
typical mass ratio of 1:4. Statistically speaking, 95% of the WD
binaries have a total mass below the Chandrasekhar mass, and thus are
not type Ia supernova progenitors. Yet half of the observed binaries
will merge in less than 6 Gyr due to gravitational wave radiation;
probable outcomes include single massive WDs and stable mass transfer AM
CVn binaries.
Based on observations obtained at the MMT Observatory, a joint facility
of the Smithsonian Institution and the University of Arizona.