Prospects for detection of detached double white dwarf binaries with Gaia, LSST and LISA

Abstract

Double white dwarf (DWD) binaries are expected to be very common in the Milky Way, but their intrinsic faintness challenges the detection of these systems. Currently, only a few tens of detached DWDs are know. Such systems offer the best chance of extracting the physical properties that would allow us to address a wealth of out standing questions ranging from the nature of white dwarfs and thermo nuclear supernovae, over stellar and binary evolution to mapping the Galaxy. In this paper, we explore the prospects for detections of ultra-compact (with binary separations of a few solar radii or less) detached DWDs in (1) optical radiation with Gaia and the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) and (2) gravitational wave radiation with Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LISA). We show that Gaia, LSST and LISA have the potential to detect, respectively, around a few hundred, a thousand and 25 thousand DWD systems. Moreover, Gaia and LSST data will extend by, respectively, a factor of 2 and 7 the guaranteed sample of LISA verification sources, binaries detectable in electromagnetic and gravitational wave radiation, opening the era of multimessenger astronomy for these sources.