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| Paper: |
Where are all the Sirius-like Systems? |
| Volume: |
469, 18th European White Dwarf Workshop (EUROWD12) |
| Page: |
379 |
| Authors: |
Holberg, J. B.; Oswalt, T. D.; Sion, E. M.; Barstow, M. A.; Burleigh, M. R. |
| Abstract: |
Approximately 70% of the nearby white dwarfs appear to be single stars, with the remainder being members of binary or
multiple star systems. An important class of such binaries are “Sirius-like” systems, where the non-degenerate
component has a spectral type K9 or earlier and the white dwarf becomes the less luminous component. Taking Sirius
A and B as the prototype of such systems, we currently find 99 known Sirius-like systems. Studies of the local white
dwarf population within 20 pc indicate that approximately 8% of all white dwarfs are members of Sirius-like systems,
yet beyond 20 pc the frequency of known Sirius-like systems declines to between 1 and 2%, indicating that many more
of these systems remain to be found. We find the local space density of Sirius-like systems to be 3.3 x 10–4 pc–3.
Further, 0.6 to 1.2% of all main sequence stars, B to K, have white dwarf companions. The great majority of currently
unidentified Sirius-like systems will likely turn out to be closely separated and unresolved. |
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