Bibcode
Hambly, N. C.; Smartt, S. J.; Hodgkin, S. T.; Jameson, R. F.; Kemp, S. N.; Rolleston, W. R. J.; Steele, I. A.
Bibliographical reference
Monthly Notices, Volume 309, Issue 4, pp. L33-L36.
Advertised on:
11
1999
Citations
28
Refereed citations
25
Description
We present a parallax measurement for the very cool degenerate WD
0346+246, the serendipitous discovery of which was reported by Hambly et
al. We find an absolute parallax of 36+/-5mas, yielding a distance
estimate of 28+/-4pc. The resulting absolute visual magnitude of the
object is MV=16.8+/-0.3, making it the second-lowest
luminosity white dwarf currently known. We use the distance estimate and
measured proper motion to show that the object has kinematics consistent
with membership of the Galactic halo. WD 0346+246 is therefore by far
the coolest and least luminous of only a handful of plausible halo white
dwarf candidates. As such, the object has relevance to the ongoing
debate concerning the results of microlensing experiments and the nature
of any baryonic dark matter component to the Galactic halo residing in
stellar remnants.