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A fast spinning magnetic white dwarf in the double degenerate, super-Chandrasekhar system NLTT 12758

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Authors
Kawka, Adéla
Briggs, G.
Vennes, S.
Ferrario, L.
Paunzen, E.
Wickramasinghe, D.
Date
2017
Type
Journal Article

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Kawka, A. and Briggs, G. and Vennes, S. and Ferrario, L. and Paunzen, E. and Wickramasinghe, D. 2017. A fast spinning magnetic white dwarf in the double degenerate, super-Chandrasekhar system NLTT 12758. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 466 (1): pp. 1127-1139.
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Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
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Curtin Institute of Radio Astronomy (Physics)
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This article has been accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society ©: 2017 The Authors. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.

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Abstract

We present an analysis of the close double degenerate NLTT 12758, which is comprised of a magnetic white dwarf with a field of about 3.1 MG and an apparently non-magnetic white dwarf. We measured an orbital period of 1.154 d and found that the magnetic white dwarf is spinning around its axis with a period of 23 min. An analysis of the atmospheric parameters has revealed that the cooling ages of the two white dwarfs are comparable, suggesting that they formed within a short period of time from each other. Our modelling indicates that the non-magnetic white dwarf is more massive (M = 0.83 M) than its magnetic companion (M = 0.69 M) and that the total mass of the system is higher than the Chandrasekhar mass. Although the stars will not come into contact over a Hubble time, when they do come into contact, dynamically unstable mass transfer will take place leading to either an accretion induced collapse into a rapidly spinning neutron star or a Type Ia supernova.