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Bayesian Inference for the White Dwarf Initial-Final Mass Relation

  • Nathan Stein
  • , Ted von Hippel
  • , David van Dyk
  • , Steven DeGennaro
  • , Elizabeth Jeffery
  • , Bill Jefferys
  • Harvard University
  • Siena College
  • University of California, Irvine
  • The University of Texas, Austin
  • Space Telescope Science Institute
  • University of Texas, University of Vermont

Research output: Contribution to conferencePresentation

Abstract

Stars lose mass as they age, and understanding mass loss is important for understanding stellar evolution. The initial-final mass relation (IFMR) is the relationship between a white dwarf’s initial mass on the main sequence and its final mass. We have developed a new method for fitting the IFMR based on a Bayesian analysis of photometric observations, combining deterministic models of stellar evolution in an internally coherent way. No mass data are used. Our method yields precise inferences (with uncertainties) for a parameterized linear IFMR. Our method can also return posterior distributions of white dwarf initial and final masses.

Original languageAmerican English
StatePublished - Jul 2023
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • main-sequence stars
  • stellar evolution

Disciplines

  • Stars, Interstellar Medium and the Galaxy

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