Post-common envelope binaries from SDSS-X: the origin of low-mass white dwarfs

  1. A. Rebassa-Mansergas1,*,
  2. A. Nebot Gómez-Morán2,3,
  3. M. R. Schreiber1,
  4. J. Girven4,
  5. B. T. Gänsicke4

Article first published online: 10 FEB 2011

DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2011.18200.x

Issue

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

Volume 413, Issue 2, pages 1121–1131, May 2011

Additional Information

How to Cite

Rebassa-Mansergas, A., Nebot Gómez-Morán, A., Schreiber, M. R., Girven, J. and Gänsicke, B. T. (2011), Post-common envelope binaries from SDSS-X: the origin of low-mass white dwarfs. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 413: 1121–1131. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2011.18200.x

Author Information

  1. 1

    Departamento de Física y Astronomía, Universidad de Valparaíso, Avenida Gran Bretana 1111, Valparaíso, Chile

  2. 2

    Astrophysikalisches Inst. Potsdam, An der Sternwarte 16, 14482 Potsdam, Germany

  3. 3

    CNRS, Observatoire Astronomique, 11 rue de l'Universite, F-67000 Strasbourg, France

  4. 4

    Department of Physics, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL

* E-mail: arebassa@dfa.uv.cl

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 25 APR 2011
  2. Article first published online: 10 FEB 2011
  3. Accepted 2010 December 13. Received 2010 December 10; in original form 2010 July 2

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Keywords:

  • binaries: close;
  • binaries: spectroscopic;
  • stars: evolution;
  • white dwarfs

ABSTRACT

We present the first white dwarf mass distributions of a large and homogeneous sample of post-common envelope binaries (PCEBs) and wide white dwarf main-sequence (WDMS) binaries directly obtained from observations. Both distributions are statistically independent, with PCEBs showing a clear concentration of systems towards the low-mass end of the distribution and the white dwarf mass distribution of wide WDMS binaries being similar to that of single white dwarfs. Our results provide evidence that the majority of low-mass (Mwd≲ 0.5 M⊙) white dwarfs are formed in close binaries.

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