Schreiber, M.R., Belloni, D., Zorotovic, M. et al. (3 more authors) (2022) Magnetic dynamos in white dwarfs – III: explaining the occurrence of strong magnetic fields in close double white dwarfs. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 513 (2). pp. 3090-3103. ISSN 0035-8711
Abstract
The origin of strong (∼>1MG) magnetic fields in white dwarfs has been a puzzle for decades. Recently, a dynamo mechanism operating in rapidly rotating and crystallizing white dwarfs has been suggested to explain the occurrence rates of strong magnetic fields in white dwarfs with close low-mass main-sequence star companions. Here, we investigate whether the same mechanism may produce strong magnetic fields in close double white dwarfs. The only known strongly magnetic white dwarf that is part of a close double white dwarf system, the magnetic component of NLTT 12758, is rapidly rotating and likely crystallizing and therefore the proposed dynamo mechanism represents an excellent scenario for the origin of its magnetic field. Presenting a revised formation scenario for NLTT 12758, we find a natural explanation for the rapid rotation of the magnetic component. We furthermore show that it is not surprising that strong magnetic fields have not been detected in all other known double white dwarfs. We therefore conclude that the incidence of magnetic fields in close double white dwarfs supports the idea that a rotation- and crystallization-driven dynamo plays a major role in the generation of strong magnetic fields in white dwarfs.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2022 The Author(s) Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Astronomical Society. This is an author-produced version of a paper subsequently published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | stars: individual: NLTT 12758, NLTT 11748, SDSS J125733.63+542850.5; stars: magnetic field; white dwarfs; binaries: close |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Science (Sheffield) > Department of Physics and Astronomy (Sheffield) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY FACILITIES COUNCIL ST/R003424/1 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 11 May 2022 10:24 |
Last Modified: | 11 May 2022 10:24 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Oxford University Press (OUP) |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1093/mnras/stac1076 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:186718 |