2014/10/15 by Ross E. Falcon, Falcon, Ross E., G. A. Rochau +11
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Physics and Astronomy · #Astro and Planetary Science #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #Atmospheric Ozone and Climate #FOS: Physical sciences #Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics #Solar and Space Plasma Dynamics #Solar and Stellar Astrophysics (astro-ph.SR) #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1410.4215
openalex publication_date 2014/10/15 · openalex created_date 2025/10/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Our preliminary results from laboratory experiments studying white dwarf (WD)\nphotospheres show a systematic difference between experimental plasma\nconditions inferred from measured H\β absorption line profiles versus\nthose from H\γ. One hypothesis for this discrepancy is an inaccuracy in\nthe relative theoretical line profiles of these two transitions. This is\nintriguing because atmospheric parameters inferred from H Balmer lines in\nobserved WD spectra show systematic trends such that inferred surface gravities\ndecrease with increasing principal quantum number, n. If conditions inferred\nfrom lower-n Balmer lines are indeed more accurate, this suggests that\nspectroscopically determined DA WD masses may be greater than previously\nthought and in better agreement with the mean mass determined from\ngravitational redshifts.\n