A fast spinning magnetic white dwarf in the double degenerate, super-Chandrasekhar system NLTT 12758

We present an analysis of the close double degenerate NLTT 12758, which is comprised of a magnetic white dwarf with a field of about 3.1 MG and an apparently non-magnetic white dwarf. We measured an orbital period of 1.154 d and found that the magnetic white dwarf is spinning around its axis with...

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Main Authors: Kawka, Adéla, Briggs, G., Vennes, S., Ferrario, L., Paunzen, E., Wickramasinghe, D.
Format: Journal Article
Published: Oxford University Press 2017
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/72950
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author Kawka, Adéla
Briggs, G.
Vennes, S.
Ferrario, L.
Paunzen, E.
Wickramasinghe, D.
author_facet Kawka, Adéla
Briggs, G.
Vennes, S.
Ferrario, L.
Paunzen, E.
Wickramasinghe, D.
author_sort Kawka, Adéla
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description We present an analysis of the close double degenerate NLTT 12758, which is comprised of a magnetic white dwarf with a field of about 3.1 MG and an apparently non-magnetic white dwarf. We measured an orbital period of 1.154 d and found that the magnetic white dwarf is spinning around its axis with a period of 23 min. An analysis of the atmospheric parameters has revealed that the cooling ages of the two white dwarfs are comparable, suggesting that they formed within a short period of time from each other. Our modelling indicates that the non-magnetic white dwarf is more massive (M = 0.83 M) than its magnetic companion (M = 0.69 M) and that the total mass of the system is higher than the Chandrasekhar mass. Although the stars will not come into contact over a Hubble time, when they do come into contact, dynamically unstable mass transfer will take place leading to either an accretion induced collapse into a rapidly spinning neutron star or a Type Ia supernova.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-729502019-02-11T03:50:41Z A fast spinning magnetic white dwarf in the double degenerate, super-Chandrasekhar system NLTT 12758 Kawka, Adéla Briggs, G. Vennes, S. Ferrario, L. Paunzen, E. Wickramasinghe, D. We present an analysis of the close double degenerate NLTT 12758, which is comprised of a magnetic white dwarf with a field of about 3.1 MG and an apparently non-magnetic white dwarf. We measured an orbital period of 1.154 d and found that the magnetic white dwarf is spinning around its axis with a period of 23 min. An analysis of the atmospheric parameters has revealed that the cooling ages of the two white dwarfs are comparable, suggesting that they formed within a short period of time from each other. Our modelling indicates that the non-magnetic white dwarf is more massive (M = 0.83 M) than its magnetic companion (M = 0.69 M) and that the total mass of the system is higher than the Chandrasekhar mass. Although the stars will not come into contact over a Hubble time, when they do come into contact, dynamically unstable mass transfer will take place leading to either an accretion induced collapse into a rapidly spinning neutron star or a Type Ia supernova. 2017 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/72950 10.1093/mnras/stw3149 Oxford University Press fulltext
spellingShingle Kawka, Adéla
Briggs, G.
Vennes, S.
Ferrario, L.
Paunzen, E.
Wickramasinghe, D.
A fast spinning magnetic white dwarf in the double degenerate, super-Chandrasekhar system NLTT 12758
title A fast spinning magnetic white dwarf in the double degenerate, super-Chandrasekhar system NLTT 12758
title_full A fast spinning magnetic white dwarf in the double degenerate, super-Chandrasekhar system NLTT 12758
title_fullStr A fast spinning magnetic white dwarf in the double degenerate, super-Chandrasekhar system NLTT 12758
title_full_unstemmed A fast spinning magnetic white dwarf in the double degenerate, super-Chandrasekhar system NLTT 12758
title_short A fast spinning magnetic white dwarf in the double degenerate, super-Chandrasekhar system NLTT 12758
title_sort fast spinning magnetic white dwarf in the double degenerate, super-chandrasekhar system nltt 12758
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/72950