2007/09/14 by Steven DeGennaro, Ted von Hippel, D. E. Winget +7 · 6 citations
Mathematics · Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy #Astrophysics #Biology #Completeness (order theory) #Function (biology) #Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena #Galaxy #Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae #Luminosity #Luminosity function #Mathematical analysis #Mathematics #Physics #Sky #Spectral line #Stars #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #White dwarf #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1088/0004-6256/135/1/1
published as Astron.J.135:1-9,2008 · 30 Pages, 12 Figures, accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journal
arxiv created 2007/09/14 · openalex publication_date 2007/11/29 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
We present the first phase in our ongoing work to use Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) data to create separate white dwarf (WD) luminosity functions (LFs) for two or more different mass ranges. In this paper, we determine the completeness of the SDSS spectroscopic WD sample by comparing a proper-motion selected sample of WDs from SDSS imaging data with a large catalog of spectroscopically determined WDs. We derive a selection probability as a function of a single color ( g − i ) and apparent magnitude ( g ) that covers the range −1.0 < g − i < 0.2 and 15 < g < 19.5. We address the observed upturn in log g for WDs with T eff ≲ 12,000 K and offer arguments that the problem is limited to the line profiles and is not present in the continuum. We offer an empirical method of removing the upturn, recovering a reasonable mass function for WDs with T eff < 12,000 K. Finally, we present a WD LF with nearly an order of magnitude (3358) more spectroscopically confirmed WDs than any previous work.