Luminosity and cooling of highly magnetized white dwarfs: suppression of luminosity by strong magnetic fields

Understand

We investigate the luminosity and cooling of highly magnetized white dwarfs with electron-degenerate cores and non-degenerate surface layers where cooling occurs by diffusion of photons.

• We find the temperature and density profiles in the surface layers or envelope of white dwarfs by solving the magnetostatic equilibrium and photon diffusion equations in a Newtonian framework.
• We also obtain the properties of white dwarfs at the core-envelope interface, when the core is assumed to be practically isothermal.
• With the increase in magnetic field, the interface temperature increases whereas the interface radius decreases.