TY  - JOUR
A1  - Christlieb, N.
A1  - Wisotzki, Lutz
A1  - Reimers, Dieter
A1  - Homeier, D.
A1  - Koester, D.
A1  - Heber, Ulrich
T1  - The stellar content of the Hamburg/ESO survey : I. Automated selection of DA white dwarfs
N2  - We describe automatic procedures for the selection of DA white dwarfs in the Hamburg/ESO objective-prism survey (HES). For this purpose, and the selection of other stellar objects (e.g., metal-poor stars and carbon stars), a flexible, robust algorithm for detection of stellar absorption and emission lines in the digital spectra of the HES was developed. Broad band (U-B, B-V) and intermediate band (Strömgren c_1) colours can be derived directly from HES spectra, with precisions of sigma U-B=0.092 mag; sigma B-V=0.095 mag; sigma c_1=0.15 mag. We describe simulation techniques that allow one to convert model or slit spectra to HES spectra. These simulated objective-prism spectra are used to determine quantitative selection criteria, and for the study of selection functions. We present an atlas of simulated HES spectra of DA and DB white dwarfs. Our current selection algorithm is tuned to yield maximum efficiency of the candidate sample (minimum contamination with non-DAs). DA candidates are selected in the B-V versus U-B and c_1 versus W_lambda (Hbeta +Hgamma +Hdelta ) parameter spaces. The contamination of the resulting sample with hot subdwarfs is expected to be as low as ~ 8%, while there is essentially no contamination with main sequence or horizontal branch stars. We estimate that with the present set of criteria, ~ 80% of DAs present in the HES database are recovered. A yet higher degree of internal completeness could be reached at the expense of higher contamination. However, the external completeness is limited by additional losses caused by proper motion effects and the epoch differences between direct and spectral plates used in the HES. Based on observations collected at the European Southern Observatory, La Silla and Paranal, Chile.
Y1  - 2001
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Raddi, Roberto
A1  - Hollands, M. A.
A1  - Koester, D.
A1  - Hermes, J. J.
A1  - Gansicke, B. T.
A1  - Heber, Ulrich
A1  - Shen, Ken J.
A1  - Townsley, D. M.
A1  - Pala, Anna Francesca
A1  - Reding, J. S.
A1  - Toloza, O. F.
A1  - Pelisoli, Ingrid Domingos
A1  - Geier, Stephan
A1  - Fusillo, Nicola Pietro Gentile
A1  - Munari, Ullisse
A1  - Strader, J.
T1  - Partly burnt runaway stellar remnants from peculiar thermonuclear supernovae
JF  - Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
N2  - We report the discovery of three stars that, along with the prototype LP 40-365, form a distinct class of chemically peculiar runaway stars that are the survivors of thermonuclear explosions. Spectroscopy of the four confirmed LP 40-365 stars finds ONe-dominated atmospheres enriched with remarkably similar amounts of nuclear ashes of partial O- and Si-burning. Kinematic evidence is consistent with ejection from a binary supernova progenitor; at least two stars have rest-frame velocities indicating they are unbound to the Galaxy. With masses and radii ranging between 0.20 and 0.28M(circle dot) and between 0.16 and 0.60 R-circle dot, respectively, we speculate these inflated white dwarfs are the partly burnt remnants of either peculiar Type Iax or electron-capture supernovae. Adopting supernova rates from the literature, we estimate that similar to 20 LP 40-365 stars brighter than 19 mag should be detectable within 2 kpc from the Sun at the end of the Gaia mission. We suggest that as they cool, these stars will evolve in their spectroscopic appearance, and eventually become peculiar O-rich white dwarfs. Finally, we stress that the discovery of new LP 40-365 stars will be useful to further constrain their evolution, supplying key boundary conditions to the modelling of explosion mechanisms, supernova rates, and nucleosynthetic yields of peculiar thermonuclear explosions.
KW  - stars: individual: LP 40-365
KW  - subdwarfs
KW  - supernovae: general
KW  - white dwarfs
KW  - Galaxy: kinematics and dynamics
Y1  - 2019
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stz1618
SN  - 0035-8711
SN  - 1365-2966
VL  - 489
IS  - 2
SP  - 1489
EP  - 1508
PB  - Oxford Univ. Press
CY  - Oxford
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Werner, Klaus
A1  - Barstow, Martin A.
A1  - Holberg, J. B.
A1  - Koester, D.
A1  - Nousek, J. A.
T1  - Extreme ultraviolet spectroscopy of white dwarfs
Y1  - 1994
ER  -