| Issue |
Astron. Astrophys. Suppl. Ser.
Volume 117, Number 1, May II 1996
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Page(s) | 13 - 18 | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1051/aas:1996139 | |
| Published online | 15 May 1996 | |
A simple method to compute white dwarf luminosity functions
1
Departament de Física Aplicada, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Jordi Girona Salgado s/n, Mòdul B-5, Campus Nord, 08034 Barcelona, Spain
2
Centre d'Estudis Avançats de Blanes, C.S.I.C., Camí de Santa Bàrbara, 17300 Blanes, Spain
3
Groupe d'Astrophysique, CNRS, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, 69394 Lyon Cedex 07, France
4
Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris, CNRS, 98 bis Bd. Arago, 75014 Paris, France
Send offprint request to: E. García-Berro
Received:
9
May
1995
Accepted:
2
October
1995
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
© European Southern Observatory (ESO), 1996