Post-common Envelope Evolution of Helium-core White Dwarfs

TL;DR

This study investigates how the residual hydrogen envelope influences the cooling and evolution of helium-core white dwarfs formed through common envelope evolution, revealing two distinct evolutionary paths and their implications.

Contribution

It provides detailed models of CE He WDs showing how hydrogen envelope mass determines their cooling behavior and evolutionary branch, a novel insight into post-CE white dwarf evolution.

Findings

Two evolutionary branches: non-flashing and flashing sequences.

Cooling times vary from 5 million to over 300 million years.

Hydrogen envelope mass significantly affects white dwarf age estimates.

Abstract

Helium-core white dwarfs (He WDs) formed through common envelope (CE) evolution offer valuable insight into binary interaction channels and compact remnant formation. Their cooling rates critically impact both detectability and age estimates in close binaries. Compared to He WDs formed via stable Roche-lobe overflow (SRLOF), those from the CE channel undergo markedly different mass-loss histories, resulting in distinct post-CE evolutionary behavior. We explore how the mass of the residual hydrogen envelope (Mh) shapes the cooling evolution of CE He WDs, focusing on the role of the bifurcation point in setting Mh and enabling residual hydrogen burning. Using the LPCODE stellar evolution code, we computed models of He WDs with masses from 0.20 to 0.42 solar masses, evolving from post-CE conditions to the white dwarf cooling track. Two evolutionary branches emerge: (i) non-flashing sequences, which cool rapidly with negligible hydrogen burning, and (ii) flashing sequences, where hydrogen shell flashes alter the envelope structure prior to cooling. Minimal-envelope models cool within 5-130 million years for effective temperatures between 12,000 and 27,000 K, and reach in approx. 300 million years at lower temperatures, remaining much younger than SRLOF counterparts. In contrast, models with more hydrogen retain active nuclear burning, delaying cooling and yielding ages of several billion years. Flashing sequences prolong the pre-white dwarf phase, though still shorter than in SRLOF evolution. The value of Mh also affects WD mass and surface gravity estimates, introducing systematic shifts with respect to SRLOF WDs. Our results show that CE He WDs follow distinct evolutionary paths, with important implications for interpreting the nature and fate of compact binaries hosting He WDs.