arXiv subjects

Zhenwei Li

Publications and source records attributed to Zhenwei Li.

39 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2019

The formation of subdwarf A-type stars

Subdwarf A-type stars (sdAs) are objects that have hydrogen-rich spectra with surface gravity similar to that of hot subdwarf stars but effective temperature below the zero-age horizontal branch (ZAHB). They are considered to be metal-poor main sequence (MS) stars or extremely low-mass white dwarfs (ELM WDs). In this work, using the stellar evolution code, Modules for Experiments in Stellar Astrophysics (MESA), we investigate the sdAs formed both by the evolution of (pre-)ELM WDs in double degenerate systems (DDs) and metal-poor main sequence with the single evolution models. We find that both of the evolutionary tracks of ELM WDs and metal-poor MSs can explain the observation properties of sdAs. However, the proportion between these two populations are uncertain. In this work, we adopt the method of binary population synthesis of both ELM WDs in the disk and metal-poor MS in the halo to obtain the populations of ELM WDs and metal-poor MSs at different stellar population ages and calculate their proportions. We find that the proportion of metal-poor MSs to sdA population for a stellar population of 10 Gyr is $\sim$98.5 percent, which is consistent with the conclusion that most sdAs ($>$95 percent) are metal-poor MSs. And the proportion of ELM WDs (metal-poor MSs) to sdA population increases (decreases) from 0.1\% (99.9\%) to 20\% (80\%) with the stellar population ages from 5 to 13.7 Gyr.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2019

Formation of Extremely Low-mass White Dwarfs in Double Degenerates

Extremely low-mass white dwarfs (ELM WDs) are helium WDs with a mass less than $\sim$$0.3\rm\;M_\odot$. Most ELM WDs are found in double degenerates (DDs) in the ELM Survey led by Brown and Kilic. These systems are supposed to be significant gravitational-wave sources in the mHz frequency. In this paper, we firstly analyzed the observational characteristics of ELM WDs and found that there are two distinct groups in the ELM WD mass and orbital period plane, indicating two different formation scenarios of such objects, i.e. a stable Roche lobe overflow channel (RL channel) and common envelope ejection channel (CE channel). We then systematically investigated the formation of ELM WDs in DDs by a combination of detailed binary evolution calculation and binary population synthesis. Our study shows that the majority of ELM WDs with mass less than $0.22\rm\;M_\odot$ are formed from the RL channel. The most common progenitor mass in this way is in the range of $1.15-1.45\rm\;M_\odot$ and the resulting ELM WDs have a peak around $0.18\rm\;M_\odot$ when selection effects are taken into account, consistent with observations. The ELM WDs with a mass larger than $0.22\rm\;M_\odot$ are more likely to be from the CE channel and have a peak of ELM WD mass around $0.25\rm\;M_\odot$ which needs to be confirmed by future observations. By assuming a constant star formation rate of 2$\rm\;M_\odot yr^{-1}$ for a Milky Way-like galaxy, the birth rate and local density are $5\times10^{-4}\rm\;yr^{-1}$ and $1500\rm\;kpc^{-3}$, respectively, for DDs with an ELM WD mass less than $0.25\rm\;M_\odot$.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2018

Formation of hot subdwarf B stars with neutron star components

Binary population synthesis predicts the existence of subdwarf B stars (sdBs) with neutron star (NS) or black hole (BH) companions. We systematically investigate the formation of sdB+NS binaries from binary evolution and aim to obtain some clues for a search for such systems. We started from a series of MS+NS systems and determined the parameter spaces for producing sdB+NS binaries from the stable Roche-lobe overflow (RLOF) channel and from the common envelope (CE) ejection channel. Various NS accretion efficiencies and NS masses were examined to investigate the effects they have. We show the characteristics of the produced sdB+NS systems, such as the mass of components, orbital period, the semi-amplitude of the radial velocity (K), and the spin of the NS component. In the stable RLOF channel, the orbital period of sdB+NS binaries produced in this way ranges from several days to more than 1000 days and moves toward the short-period (~ hr) side with increasing initial MS mass. the sdB+NS systems that result from CE ejection have very short orbital periods and then high values of K (up to 800km s^-1). Such systems are born in very young populations (younger than 0.3 Gyr) and are potential gravitational wave sources that might be resolved by the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) in the future. Gravitational wave radiation may again bring them into contact on a timescale of only ~Myr. As a consequence, they are rare and hard to discover. The pulsar signal is likely a feature of sdB+NS systems caused by stable RLOF, and some NS components in sdB binaries may be millisecond pulsars.

astro-ph.SR↗