Ensemble Properties of the White Dwarf Population of the Old, Solar Metallicity Open Star Cluster Messier 67

TL;DR

This study provides a comprehensive spectroscopic analysis of white dwarfs in Messier 67, confirming theoretical predictions about stellar evolution and revealing insights into binary evolution and atmospheric composition distributions.

Contribution

It offers the first detailed spectroscopic characterization of Messier 67's white dwarfs, testing stellar evolution models and examining atmospheric composition distributions in a star cluster context.

Findings

White dwarf mass loss stochasticity is less than 7% of remnant mass.

Identification of white dwarfs from binary evolution, including blue straggler remnants.

No significant helium core white dwarf population found.

Abstract

White dwarfs are excellent forensic tools for studying end-of-life issues surrounding low- and intermediate-mass stars, and the old, solar-metallicity open star cluster Messier 67 is a proven laboratory for the study of stellar evolution for solar-type stars. In this paper, we present a detailed spectroscopic study of brighter (M_g < 12.4) white dwarfs in Messier 67, and, in combination with previously-published proper motion membership determinations, we identify a clean, representative sample of cluster white dwarfs, including 13 members with hydrogen-dominated atmospheres, at least one of which is a candidate double degenerate, and 5 members with helium-dominated atmospheres. Using this sample we test multiple predictions surrounding the final stages of stellar evolution in solar type stars. In particular, the stochasticity of the integrated mass lost by ~1.5 solar mass stars is less than 7% of the white dwarf remnant mass. We identify white dwarfs likely resulting from binary evolution, including at least one blue straggler remnant and two helium core white dwarfs. We observe no evidence of a significant population of helium core white dwarfs formed by enhanced mass loss on the red giant branch of the cluster. The distribution of white dwarf atmospheric compositions is fully consistent with that in the field, limiting proposed mechanisms for the suppression of helium atmosphere white dwarf formation in star clusters. In short, the white dwarf population of Messier 67 is fully consistent with basic predictions of single- and multiple-star stellar evolution theories for solar metallicity stars.