Post common envelope binaries from SDSS - XI. The white dwarf mass distributions of CVs and pre-CVs

By M. Zorotovic, M. Schreiber, B. Gänsicke. 2011

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Context. We have known for a long time that many of the measured white dwarf (WD) masses in cataclysmic variables (CVs) significantly exceed the mean mass of single WDs. This was thought to be related to observational biases, but recent high-precision measurements of WD masses in a great number of CVs are challenging this interpretation. A crucial question in this context is whether the high WD masses seen among CVs are already imprinted in the mass distribution of their progenitors, i.e. among detached postcommon-envelope binaries (PCEBs) that consist of a WD and a main-sequence star. Aims. We review the measured WD masses of CVs, determine the WD-mass distribution of an extensive sample of PCEBs that are representative for the progenitors of the current CV population (pre-CVs) and compare both distributions. Methods. We calculate the CV formation time of the PCEBs in our sample by determining the post common-envelope (CE) and the main-sequence evolution of the binary systems and define a pre-CV to be a PCEB that evolves into a semi-detached configuration with stable mass transfer within less than the age of the Galaxy. Possible observational biases affecting the WD-mass distribution for the pre-CV and the CV samples are discussed.

Subfields: Astronomy and Astrophysics, Instrumentation

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/3838668ea4a9bfc3f4c0bc8379774cff95345e62