C/O white dwarfs of very low mass: 0.33-0.5 Mo

TL;DR

This paper explores the potential formation of carbon-oxygen white dwarfs with masses as low as 0.33 solar masses, challenging the standard lower limit of 0.5 solar masses, and examines their evolution.

Contribution

It introduces models of very low mass C/O white dwarfs and analyzes their pre-WD and cooling evolution, expanding understanding of white dwarf formation.

Findings

C/O white dwarfs can potentially have masses as low as 0.33 Mo.

The evolution of these low-mass WDs differs from standard models.

Implications for white dwarf formation theories.

Abstract

The standard lower limit for the mass of white dwarfs (WDs) with a C/O core is roughly 0.5 Mo. In the present work we investigated the possibility to form C/O WDs with mass as low as 0.33 Mo. Both the pre-WD and the cooling evolution of such nonstandard models will be described.