This page lists my peer-reviewed journal articles and preprints.
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2024
1. Detection of a New Sample of Galactic White Dwarfs in the Direction of the Small Magellanic Cloud
Authors: A. V. Sidharth, B. Shridharan, B. Mathew, A. Devaraj, T. B. Cysil, C. S. Stalin, R. Arun, S. Bhattacharyya, S. S. Kartha, and T. Robin
Journal: Astronomy & Astrophysics, 690, A68 (2024)
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/202450292
Abstract
We demonstrate the efficacy of the Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (UVIT) in identifying and characterizing white dwarfs (WDs) within the Milky Way. Leveraging the UVIT point-source catalogue toward the Small Magellanic Cloud and cross-matching it with Gaia DR3 data, we identified 43 single WDs (37 new detections), 13 WD + main-sequence candidates, and 161 UV-bright main-sequence stars by analyzing their spectral energy distributions.
Using white dwarf evolutionary models, we determined their masses, effective temperatures (Teff), and cooling ages. The WDs span 0.2β1.3 Mβ in mass and 10 000β15 000 K in temperature, with cooling ages of 0.1β2 Gyr. Notably, we detect WDs hotter than those reported in previous works, attributable to UVITβs higher sensitivity.
We also report 20 new extremely low-mass WD candidates. Despite Gaia DR3βs limitations for faint sources, we estimate a local WD space density of ΟWD β 1.3 Γ 10β3 pcβ3, higher than earlier literature values.
These results showcase UVITβs capabilities and pave the way for future UV missions such as INSIST, setting a precedent for large-scale WD discovery and spectroscopic follow-up.