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Asteroseismology of white dwarfs in the 2040s

Murat Uzundag, Ingrid Pelisoli, Stephane Charpinet, Alejandro H. Corsico, Leandro G. Althaus, V. Van Grootel, Suzanna Randall, Thomas Kupfer, Roberto Raddi

TL;DR

White-dwarf asteroseismology provides direct probes of interiors and fundamental physics, but progress is limited by incomplete mode detections and cross-method mass discrepancies. This paper outlines a 2040s research framework combining space-based, high-precision photometry with coordinated ground-based spectroscopy and long-term monitoring to enable ensemble asteroseismology and population tests. It identifies key open questions—mode scarcity, impure instability strips, envelope mass uncertainties, chemical interfaces, outbursts, ultramassive WD crystallization, and mass biases—and spells out the data needs to address them. The large-scale, multi-technique observational program is expected to dramatically increase the sample of pulsating WDs, refine interior-structure inferences, and test crystallization and exotic-physics scenarios.

Abstract

White dwarfs, the final evolutionary stage of the vast majority of stars, serve as critical tools for cosmochronology, studies of planetary system evolution, and laboratories for non-standard physics, including exotic cooling channels and weakly interacting particles, as well as crystallization processes. Beyond surface properties accessible via spectroscopy and model atmospheres, global pulsations exhibited by white dwarfs during various evolutionary phases provide a direct window into their deep interiors. Asteroseismology, the comparison of observed pulsation periods with theoretical models, enables us to infer internal chemical stratification, total mass, rotation profiles, and magnetic field strengths. Despite major advances from space missions providing uninterrupted, high-precision photometry, key challenges remain: many predicted pulsators remain quiet, while others oscillate outside theoretical instability strips, highlighting gaps in our understanding of mode excitation, diffusion, and convective mixing. Determining the masses of white dwarfs, particularly for massive and hydrogen-deficient stars, remains uncertain, with discrepancies between spectroscopic, asteroseismic, astrometric, and photometric methods. In the coming decades, large-scale surveys combining high-precision space-based photometry with coordinated ground-based spectroscopic follow-up will dramatically increase both the number and quality of pulsating white dwarf observations.

Asteroseismology of white dwarfs in the 2040s

TL;DR

White-dwarf asteroseismology provides direct probes of interiors and fundamental physics, but progress is limited by incomplete mode detections and cross-method mass discrepancies. This paper outlines a 2040s research framework combining space-based, high-precision photometry with coordinated ground-based spectroscopy and long-term monitoring to enable ensemble asteroseismology and population tests. It identifies key open questions—mode scarcity, impure instability strips, envelope mass uncertainties, chemical interfaces, outbursts, ultramassive WD crystallization, and mass biases—and spells out the data needs to address them. The large-scale, multi-technique observational program is expected to dramatically increase the sample of pulsating WDs, refine interior-structure inferences, and test crystallization and exotic-physics scenarios.

Abstract

White dwarfs, the final evolutionary stage of the vast majority of stars, serve as critical tools for cosmochronology, studies of planetary system evolution, and laboratories for non-standard physics, including exotic cooling channels and weakly interacting particles, as well as crystallization processes. Beyond surface properties accessible via spectroscopy and model atmospheres, global pulsations exhibited by white dwarfs during various evolutionary phases provide a direct window into their deep interiors. Asteroseismology, the comparison of observed pulsation periods with theoretical models, enables us to infer internal chemical stratification, total mass, rotation profiles, and magnetic field strengths. Despite major advances from space missions providing uninterrupted, high-precision photometry, key challenges remain: many predicted pulsators remain quiet, while others oscillate outside theoretical instability strips, highlighting gaps in our understanding of mode excitation, diffusion, and convective mixing. Determining the masses of white dwarfs, particularly for massive and hydrogen-deficient stars, remains uncertain, with discrepancies between spectroscopic, asteroseismic, astrometric, and photometric methods. In the coming decades, large-scale surveys combining high-precision space-based photometry with coordinated ground-based spectroscopic follow-up will dramatically increase both the number and quality of pulsating white dwarf observations.

Paper Structure

This paper contains 3 sections, 1 figure.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction and Background
  2. Open Science Questions in the 2040s
  3. Technology and Data Handling Requirements

Figures (1)

  • Figure 1: Location of confirmed and candidate pulsating white dwarfs and pre--white-dwarf stars in the $\log T_{\rm eff}$--$\log g$ diagram, adapted from 2019AARv..27....7C. Symbols denote different variability classes, including DAV, DBV, GW Vir, ELMV, and pre-ELMV stars; GW Vir planetary nebula nucleus variables are highlighted. Representative evolutionary tracks for low-mass He-core, H-deficient post-VLTP, and ultramassive H-rich white dwarfs are shown for reference, together with theoretical blue edges of the instability domains (dashed lines).