Discovery of an extremely weak magnetic field in the white dwarf LTT 16093 = WD2047+372

TL;DR

This paper reports the discovery of a very weak magnetic field in a white dwarf, expanding the known range of magnetic field strengths and providing new data for modeling such fields.

Contribution

It presents the detection of an extremely weak magnetic field in a white dwarf, the third weakest ever found, using spectropolarimetry, and discusses the implications for understanding white dwarf magnetism.

Findings

Detected a 57 kG magnetic field in LTT 16093/WD2047+372

Demonstrated spectropolarimetric detection of weak fields in white dwarfs

Expanded the known range of white dwarf magnetic field strengths

Abstract

Magnetic fields have been detected in several hundred white dwarfs, with strengths ranging from a few kG to several hundred MG. Only a few of the known fields have a mean magnetic field modulus below about 1 MG. We are searching for new examples of magnetic white dwarfs with very weak fields, and trying to model the few known examples. Our search is intended to be sensitive enough to detect fields at the few kG level. We have been surveying bright white dwarfs for very weak fields using spectropolarimeters at the Canada-France-Hawaii telescope, the William Herschel telescope, the European Southern Observatory, and the Russian Special Astrophysical Observatory. We discuss in some detail tests of the WHT spectropolarimeter ISIS using the known magnetic strong-field Ap star HD 215441 (Babcock's star) and the long-period Ap star HD 201601 (gamma Equ). We report the discovery of a field with a mean field modulus of about 57 kG in the white dwarf LTT 16093 = WD2047+372. The field is clearly detected through the Zeeman splitting of Halpha seen in two separate circularly polarised spectra from two different spectropolarimeters. Zeeman circular polarisation is also detected, but only barely above the 3 sigma level. The discovery of this field is significant because it is the third weakest field ever unambiguously discovered in a white dwarf, while still being large enough that we should be able to model the field structure in some detail with future observations.