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Title:
The Mystery Deepens: Spitzer Observations of Cool White Dwarfs
Authors:
Kilic, Mukremin; von Hippel, Ted; Mullally, Fergal; Reach, William T.; Kuchner, Marc J.; Winget, D. E.; Burrows, Adam
Affiliation:
AA(Department of Astronomy, University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station C1400, Austin, TX 78712; .), AB(Department of Astronomy, University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station C1400, Austin, TX 78712; .), AC(Department of Astronomy, University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station C1400, Austin, TX 78712; .), AD(Spitzer Science Center, MS 220-6, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125.), AE(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771.), AF(Department of Astronomy, University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station C1400, Austin, TX 78712; .), AG(Department of Astronomy, and Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, 933 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721.)
Publication:
The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 642, Issue 2, pp. 1051-1056. (ApJ Homepage)
Publication Date:
05/2006
Origin:
UCP
ApJ Keywords:
Infrared: Stars, : Alphanumeric: LHS 1126, stars: individual (WD 0038-226), Stars: White Dwarfs
DOI:
10.1086/501042
Bibliographic Code:
2006ApJ...642.1051K

Abstract

We present 4.5 and 8 μm photometric observations of 18 cool white dwarfs obtained with the Spitzer Space Telescope. Our observations demonstrate that four white dwarfs with Teff<6000 K show slightly depressed mid-infrared fluxes relative to white dwarf models. In addition, another white dwarf with a peculiar optical and near-infrared spectral energy distribution (LHS 1126) is found to display significant flux deficits in Spitzer observations. These mid-infrared flux deficits are not predicted by the current white dwarf models including collision-induced absorption due to molecular hydrogen. We postulate that either the collision-induced absorption calculations are incomplete or there are other unrecognized physical processes occurring in cool white dwarf atmospheres. The spectral energy distribution of LHS 1126 surprisingly fits a Rayleigh-Jeans spectrum in the infrared, mimicking a hot white dwarf with effective temperature well in excess of 105 K. This implies that the source of this flux deficit is probably not molecular absorption but some other process.
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