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White dwarf evolution and crystallization

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Abstract

We present a numerical study for the evolution of non-DA white dwarfs of 0.4, 0.55, 0.8, 1.0, and 1.2M ⊙. We pay special attention to the behaviour of the crystallization front. It is shown that crystallization begins at higher luminosities the higher the white dwarf mass is. The shape of the crystal growth function is very similar, almost independent of the value of the total stellar mass. We also study the crystallization process analytically, finding that it is nicely reproduced by a very simple model that accounts for the numerical results.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Paseo del Bosque S/N (1900), La Plata, Argentina

    O. G. Benvenuto & L. G. Althaus

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  1. O. G. Benvenuto
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  2. L. G. Althaus
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Member of the Carrera del Investigador Científico, Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas de la Provincia de Buenos Aires (Argentina).

Fellow of the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (Argentina).

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Benvenuto, O.G., Althaus, L.G. White dwarf evolution and crystallization. Astrophys Space Sci 234, 11–25 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00627278

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00627278

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