Five New Sirius-Like White Dwarf + Main Sequence Star Systems with MagAO-X

TL;DR

This study uses the MagAO-X extreme adaptive optics instrument to discover seven new white dwarf companions to main sequence stars, revealing a previously underexplored population of Sirius-like systems within 100 parsecs.

Contribution

The paper introduces the Pup Search survey utilizing MagAO-X to detect white dwarf companions around AFGK stars, achieving sensitivity to systems missed by prior surveys.

Findings

Seven new white dwarf candidates identified, five confirmed.

Survey sensitive to a unique region not covered by previous methods.

Results suggest more white dwarf companions may be found with advanced AO technology.

Abstract

Most known white dwarfs in multiple systems with main sequence stars have been discovered with M-type companions, because the white dwarf causes detectable UV excess and bluer colors than expected from a single M star. Surveys have shown that the number of white dwarfs in Sirius-like systems within 100 pc of the Sun is lower than expected, suggesting that white dwarfs are being missed in the glare of their main sequence companions. In this work we have leveraged the angular resolution and high-contrast capabilities, as well as optimization for visible wavelengths, of the extreme adaptive optics instrument MagAO-X to detect new white dwarf companions to AFGK stars. We present the first results of our survey with the extreme AO instrument MagAO-X, called the Pup Search, of 18 targets with seven new candidate companions, five of which are confirmed to be white dwarfs. We discuss the new detections in the context of previous surveys and other detection metric sensitivities and show that we are sensitive to a region not probed by other surveys. Finally we discuss the future of the Pup Search in light of developing technologies.