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Abstract We increase the spectroscopic completeness of the 100 pc white dwarf sample in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey footprint with 840 additional spectra. Our spectroscopy is 86% complete for white dwarfs hotter thanT_eff = 5000 K, where Hαremains visible and provides reliable constraints on the atmospheric composition. We identify 2108 DA white dwarfs with pure hydrogen atmospheres, and show that ultramassive DA white dwarfs withM≥ 1.1M_⊙are an order of magnitude less common below 10,000 K. This is consistent with a fraction of them getting stuck on the crystallization sequence due to²²Ne distillation. In addition, there are no ultramassive DA white dwarfs withM≥ 1.1M_⊙andT_eff≤ 6000 K in our sample, likely because Debye cooling makes them rapidly fade away. We detect a significant trend in the fraction of He atmosphere white dwarfs as a function of temperature; the fraction increases from 9% at 20,000 K to 32% at 6000 K. This provides direct evidence of convective mixing in cool DA white dwarfs. Finally, we detect a relatively tight sequence of low-mass DQ white dwarfs in color–magnitude diagrams for the first time. We discuss the implications of this tight DQ sequence, and conclude with a discussion of the future prospects from the upcoming Ultraviolet Transient Astronomy Satellite mission and the large-scale multi-fiber spectroscopic surveys. 

ABSTRACT The convective dredge-up of carbon from the interiors of hydrogen-deficient white dwarfs has long been invoked to explain the presence of carbon absorption features in the spectra of cool DQ stars ($$T_{\rm eff} \lt 10\,000\,$$K). It has been hypothesized that this transport process is not limited to DQ white dwarfs and also operates, albeit less efficiently, in non-DQ hydrogen-deficient white dwarfs within the same temperature range. This non-DQ population is predominantly composed of DC white dwarfs, which exhibit featureless optical spectra. However, no direct observational evidence of ubiquitous carbon pollution in DC stars has thus far been uncovered. In this Letter, we analyse data from the Galaxy Evolution Explorer to reveal the photometric signature of ultraviolet carbon lines in most DC white dwarfs in the $$8500\, {\rm K} \le T_{\rm eff} \le 10\,500\,$$K temperature range. Our results show that the vast majority of hydrogen-deficient white dwarfs experience carbon dredge-up at some point in their evolution. 

ABSTRACT Two recently discovered white dwarfs, WD J041246.84 + 754942.26 and WD J165335.21 − 100116.33, exhibit Hα and Hβ Balmer line emission similar to stars in the emerging DAHe class, yet intriguingly have not been found to have detectable magnetic fields. These white dwarfs are assigned the spectral type DAe. We present detailed follow-up of the two known DAe stars using new time-domain spectroscopic observations and analysis of the latest photometric time-series data from TESS and ZTF. We measure the upper magnetic field strength limit of both stars as B < 0.05 MG. The DAe white dwarfs exhibit photometric and spectroscopic variability, where in the case of WD J041246.84 + 754942.26 the strength of the Hα and Hβ emission cores varies in antiphase with its photometric variability over the spin period, which is the same phase relationship seen in DAHe stars. The DAe white dwarfs closely cluster in one region of the Gaia Hertzsprung–Russell diagram together with the DAHe stars. We discuss current theories on non-magnetic and magnetic mechanisms which could explain the characteristics observed in DAe white dwarfs, but additional data are required to unambiguously determine the origin of these stars. 

Abstract We present the results from our ongoing spectroscopic survey targeting low-mass white dwarf binaries, focusing on the southern sky. We used a Gaia DR2- and eDR3-based selection and identified 28 new binaries, including 19 new extremely low-mass (ELM) white dwarfs, one short period, likely eclipsing, DABZ, and two potential LISA binaries. We present the orbital and atmospheric parameters for each new binary based on our spectroscopic follow up. Four of our new binaries show periodic photometric variability in TESS 2 minutes cadence data, including one new eclipsing double-lined spectroscopic binary. Three others show periodic photometric variability in ZTF, including one new eclipsing binary. We provide estimates for the inclinations and scaled component radii for these ZTF variables, based on light-curve modeling of our high-speed photometric follow-up observations. Our observations have increased the sample of ELM Survey binaries identified in the southern sky to 41, an increase of 64%. Future time domain surveys, such as BlackGEM and the Vera C. Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time, will efficiently identify photometric variables in the southern sky and significantly increase the population of southern sky low-mass white dwarf binaries, leading to a more complete all-sky population of these systems.