White dwarf stars

Abstract

White dwarfs are the final stage for more than 95% of all stars. Their population statistics and properties contain a wealth of information about the history of star formation in our galaxy, the ages of stellar systems, and the relation between original mass at birth and that of the final remnant. They are also interesting individually as laboratories for physical conditions not easily reached in terrestrial labs: Macroscopic manifestation of the Pauli principle, high densities and pressures, and extremely high magnetic fields. After a brief introduction with some historical milestones the observational status is reviewed: Spectroscopic classification, determination of stellar parameters from spectroscopic and photometric observations, effective temperatures, surface gravities, radii, and masses. The next sections deal with the physics of the interior and evolution of white dwarfs, leading to the mass–radius relation and cooling times. Going back closer to the observations again, the physical processes in the outer layers are discussed: Gravitational separation, diffusion, radiative levitation, accretion, and convective mixing. This leads to a review of our current understanding of the origin of spectral types and their interrelation. A final section gives brief introductions to topics at the center of current research: White dwarfs in open and globular clusters, debris disks, the origin of accreted metals in the atmospheres, magnetic fields and their origin, variable white dwarfs, and white dwarfs in binaries. This chapter was finished in February 2010 and reflects the status of knowledge at that time.