Free access article

DOI: 10.1051/aas:1996139

Astronomy and Astrophysics Supplement Series, Vol. 117, May II 1996, 13-18

A simple method to compute white dwarf luminosity functions

E. García-Berro , M. Hernanz , J. Isern , G. Chabrier , L. Segretain and R. Mochkovitch

Send offprint requests to: E. García-Berro

Departament de Física Aplicada, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Jordi Girona Salgado s/n, Mòdul B-5, Campus Nord, 08034 Barcelona, Spain
Centre d'Estudis Avançats de Blanes, C.S.I.C., Camí de Santa Bàrbara, 17300 Blanes, Spain
Groupe d'Astrophysique, CNRS, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, 69394 Lyon Cedex 07, France
Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris, CNRS, 98 bis Bd. Arago, 75014 Paris, France

Received May 9; accepted October 2, 1995

Abstract:

The luminosity function of white dwarfs can be used to obtain helpful information about the properties of the Galaxy and allows one to discriminate among different models of galactic evolution. In this paper we provide the necessary tools to construct theoretical luminosity functions for any star formation rate, any initial mass function, and any relationship between the mass of the white dwarf and the mass of the progenitor.

Key words: white dwarfs --- stars: evolution --- luminosity function

Copyright EDP Sciences
web@edpsciences.com

The OpenURL standard is a protocol for transmission of metadata describing the resource that you wish to access. An OpenURL link contains article metadata and directs it to the OpenURL server of your choice. The OpenURL server can provide access to the resource and also offer complementary services (specific search engine, export of references...). The OpenURL link can be generated by different means.

• If your librarian has set up your subscription with an OpenURL resolver, OpenURL links appear automatically on the abstract pages.
• You can define your own OpenURL resolver with your EDPS Account. In this case your choice will be given priority over that of your library.
• You can use an add-on for your browser (Firefox or I.E.) to display OpenURL links on a page (see http://www.openly.com/openurlref/). You should disable this module if you wish to use the OpenURL server that you or your library have defined.