White Dwarfs In The UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey Data Release 9

TL;DR

This study identifies and characterizes new cool white dwarfs from UKIDSS DR9, providing insights into their atmospheres, ages, and kinematics, and comparing them with previous samples to understand spectral evolution.

Contribution

It presents new cool white dwarf discoveries from UKIDSS DR9, confirms their nature spectroscopically, and analyzes their properties using advanced models, enhancing understanding of white dwarf evolution.

Findings

Most new white dwarfs have temperatures below 5000 K.

Two hydrogen-rich remnants are 8.5-9.0 Gyr old.

A double degenerate system with 3-5 Gyr cooling age.

Abstract

We have identified eight to ten new cool white dwarfs from the Large Area Survey (LAS) Data Release 9 of the United Kingdom InfraRed Telescope (UKIRT) Infrared Deep Sky Survey (UKIDSS). The data set was paired with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) to obtain proper motions and a broad ugrizYJHK wavelength coverage. Optical spectroscopic observations were secured at Gemini Observatory and confirm the degenerate status for eight of our targets. The final sample includes two additional white dwarf candidates with no spectroscopic observations. We rely on improved 1D model atmospheres and new multi-dimensional simulations with CO5BOLD to review the stellar parameters of the published LAS white dwarf sample along with our additional discoveries. Most of the new objects possess very cool atmospheres with effective temperatures below 5000 K, including two pure-hydrogen remnants with a cooling age between 8.5 and 9.0 Gyr, and tangential velocities in the range 40 km/s < vtan < 60 km/s. They are likely thick disk 10-11 Gyr-old objects. In addition we find a resolved double degenerate system with vtan ~ 155 km/s and a cooling age between 3.0 and 5.0 Gyr. These white dwarfs could be disk remnants with a very high velocity or former halo G stars. We also compare the LAS sample with earlier studies of very cool degenerates and observe a similar deficit of helium-dominated atmospheres in the range 5000 < Teff (K) < 6000. We review the possible explanations for the spectral evolution from helium-dominated towards hydrogen-rich atmospheres at low temperatures.