Abstract One of the central mysteries of white dwarf studies has been the nature and abundance of trace elements in the atmospheres of these stars. It had been thought that the dominant trace element in otherwise pure hydrogen DA white dwarf atmospheres was helium. However, some spectroscopic and theoretical evidence suggested that, at least in some stars, heavier elements may be important. Prior to the launch of ROSAT the questions regarding the atmospheric composition of DA white dwarfs in general remained unresolved. The ROSAT mission has provided EUV and X-ray data for a large sample of DA white dwarfs with which we can study their photospheric composition and structure through the effect of trace opacity sources on the emergent fluxes. Contrary to expectations little (if any) helium is found and the main sources of opacity appear to be trace heavy elements. Support for these conclusions is found in recent EUV and far-UV spectra of several stars. However, photometric data do not allow us to determine the abundance of the individual elements and observations with the EUVE spectrometers will be essential for detailed composition measurements.
Photospheric composition and structure in white dwarfs
Advances in Space Research ; 13 , 12 ; 15-22
1993-01-01
8 pages
Article (Journal)
Electronic Resource
English
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