Discovery of a Luminous White Dwarf in a Young Star Cluster in the Large Magellanic Cloud

Elson, Rebecca A. W.; Sigurdsson, Steinn; Hurley, Jarrod; Gilmore, Gerard F.; Davies, Melvyn B.

United Kingdom, France

Abstract

We have identified a candidate ~1-2×105 yr old luminous white dwarf in NGC 1818, a young star cluster in the Large Magellanic Cloud. This discovery strongly constrains the boundary mass Mc at which stars stop forming neutron stars and start forming white dwarfs, to Mc>~7.6 Msolar.

1998 The Astrophysical Journal
eHST 14