The Temperature Scale and Mass Distribution of Hot DA White Dwarfs

Abstract

Results are presented from a comprehensive spectroscopic survey of DA white dwarfs hotter than ~25,000 K. The observations consisted of CCD spectra with signal-to-noise ratios of ~100 in the blue, with ~5 Å resolution. The majority of the spectra covered the wavelength range of 3500-7500 Å, allowing the detection of a number of cool companions. To date, spectra have been obtained and analyzed for 174 DA stars. The spectra were analyzed using our model atmospheres, which are described in detail here, resulting in temperatures and gravities with average internal errors of 1% and 0.04 dex, respectively. Comparisons with previously published results showed that temperature determinations for T_eff < 30,000 K were generally consistent at the 1% or better level, while spectroscopic gravity determinations based on the latest models were consistent at the 0.02 dex level. Wood's evolutionary sequences were used to derive masses for the observed stars with average internal errors of 0.02 M_☉. The mass distribution for this hot sample peaked at 0.570 M_☉, consistent with previous spectroscopic results for cooler samples. One salient feature of this hot sample is the presence of a significant number of massive DA stars with T_eff < 50,000 K, many with M > 1.1 M_☉. The ultramassive DA's comprise a much larger fraction of the total than was the case for cooler samples. Calculations based on white dwarf evolutionary models showed that a higher proportion of massive white dwarfs is expected to be found in samples with T_eff 30,000 K as a result of differential cooling effects. Within the range T_eff > 40,000 K, the EUV-selected subsample did have proportionately more massive stars than the optically selected subsample. However, a detailed comparison showed that EUV and optical surveys were equally capable of detecting relatively nearby massive white dwarfs. On the other hand, interstellar EUV absorption eliminated from the EUV sample many of the more distant stars that were detectable optically. Therefore, the apparent excess of massive DA white dwarfs in the EUV sample is largely due to a relative deficit of stars with more typical masses. Results are presented for individual stars, including a number of subdwarf identifications and reports of detections of cool companions. Properties of some of the more interesting binaries are discussed. We also report on some stars in the sample that evidently have varying He abundances. WD 0612+177 (G104-27) had been observed, at one point, to have photospheric He I; we confirm that He has remained absent since then. WD 0718-316 (RE 0720-314) is in a post-common-envelope binary and has photospheric He II, the abundance of which appears to vary by more than an order of magnitude over timescales of months.