J/ApJ/996/69 Open-cluster DA white dwarf IFMR sample (Miller+, 2026)
The White Dwarf Initial-Final Mass Relation from Open Clusters in Gaia DR3.
Miller D.R., Caiazzo I., Heyl J., Richer H.B., Hollands M.A.,
Tremblay P.-E., El-badry K., Rodriguez A.C., Vanderbosch Z.P.
<Astrophys. J. 996, 69 (2026)>
=2026ApJ...996...69M 2026ApJ...996...69M (SIMBAD/NED BibCode)
ADC_Keywords: Clusters, open ; Stars, white dwarf ; Spectroscopy ; Optical
Keywords: White dwarf stars - Open star clusters - Compact objects -
Stellar evolution
Abstract:
The initial-final mass relation (IFMR) links a star's birth mass to
the mass of its white dwarf (WD) remnant, providing key constraints on
stellar evolution. Open clusters offer the most straightforward way to
empirically determine the IFMR, as their well-defined ages allow for
direct progenitor lifetime estimates. We construct the most
comprehensive open cluster WD IFMR to date by combining new
spectroscopy of 22 WDs with an extensive literature review of WDs with
strong cluster associations. To minimize systematics, we restrict our
analysis to spectroscopically confirmed hydrogen-atmosphere (DA) WDs
consistent with single-stellar origins. We separately analyze a subset
with reliable Gaia-based astrometric membership assessments, as well
as a full sample that adds WDs with strong cluster associations whose
membership cannot be reliably assessed with Gaia. The Gaia-based
sample includes 69 spectroscopically confirmed DA WDs, more than
doubling the sample size of previous Gaia-based open cluster IFMRs.
The full sample, which includes 53 additional literature WDs,
increases the total number of cluster WDs by over 50% relative to
earlier works. We provide functional forms for both the Gaia-based and
full-sample IFMRs. The Gaia-based result useful for Mi≥2.67☉
is Mf=0.179-0.100H(Mi-3.84M☉x(Mi-3.84M☉)+0.628M☉,
where H(x) is the Heaviside step function. Comparing our IFMR to
recent literature, we identify significant deviations from best-fit
IFMRs derived from both Gaia-based volume-limited samples of field WDs
and double WD binaries, with the largest discrepancy occurring for
initial masses of about 5M☉.
Description:
ifmr_wds.dat contains the final sample of spectroscopically confirmed
hydrogen-atmosphere (DA) white dwarfs used in the IFMR analysis. It is
a merged compilation based on material from Tables 2, 3, 8, 9, 11, and
12 of the paper, with some columns omitted and additional identifying
information added, including host cluster name and coordinates. The
table includes both the Gaia-supported sample and additional non-Gaia
literature objects used in the full sample. Users who wish to
reproduce the Gaia-based sample should filter on the gaia_supported
flag.
The file clusters.dat reproduces the adopted cluster parameters table from
Table 10 of the paper. It lists the adopted extinction, metallicity, age,
age uncertainties, and source of the adopted isochrone fit.
File Summary:
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FileName Lrecl Records Explanations
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ReadMe 80 . This file
ifmr_wds.dat 286 122 Spectroscopic and derived quantities for final
DA white dwarf sample used in the IFMR analysis
clusters.dat 69 30 Adopted cluster parameters
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Byte-by-byte Description of file: ifmr_wds.dat
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Bytes Format Units Label Explanations
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1- 16 A16 --- Name Identifier assigned in this work
18- 42 A25 --- Namelit Literature identifier
44- 62 A19 --- Cluster Host cluster name
64- 73 F10.6 deg RAdeg Right ascension (ICRS)
75- 84 F10.6 deg DEdeg Declination (ICRS)
86- 92 A7 --- rPos Source of the adopted coordinates
94-112 I19 --- GaiaDR3 ? Gaia DR3 source identifier
114 A1 --- f_GaiaDR3 [y/n] Gaia-supported membership flag (1)
116-120 F5.3 [cm/s2] logg log10(surface gravity in cm/s2)
122-126 F5.3 [cm/s2] E_logg Upper uncertainty in log_g
128-132 F5.3 [cm/s2] e_logg Lower uncertainty in log_g
134-139 I6 K Teff Best-fit effective temperature
141-144 I4 K E_Teff Upper uncertainty in teff
146-149 I4 K e_Teff Lower uncertainty in teff
151-160 A10 --- rspec Source of the spectroscopy
162-200 A39 --- rfitsource Source of the atmospheric-parameter fit
202-206 F5.3 Msun WDMass White dwarf mass
208-212 F5.3 Msun E_WDMass Upper uncertainty in WDMass
214-218 F5.3 Msun e_WDMass Lower uncertainty in WDMass
220-227 F8.3 Myr Tcool White dwarf cooling age
229-235 F7.3 Myr E_Tcool Upper uncertainty in Tcool
236-242 F7.3 Myr e_Tcool Lower uncertainty in Tcool
244-248 I5 km Rad White dwarf radius
250-253 I4 km E_Rad Upper uncertainty in Rad
255-258 I4 km e_Rad Lower uncertainty in Rad
260-264 F5.3 Msun ProgMass Progenitor mass
266-270 F5.3 Msun E_ProgMass Upper uncertainty in prog_mass
272-276 F5.3 Msun e_ProgMass Lower uncertainty in prog_mass
278-286 A9 --- rSource Source of the derived parameters
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Note (1): Users who wish to reproduce the Gaia-based sample should select rows
with f_GaiadR3='y'.
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Byte-by-byte Description of file: clusters.dat
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Bytes Format Units Label Explanations
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1- 19 A19 --- Cluster Cluster or association name
21- 25 F5.3 mag AV ? V-band extinction (1)
28- 33 F6.4 --- Z Metal mass fraction
35- 39 I5 Myr Age Adopted cluster age
41- 44 I4 Myr E_Age Upper uncertainty in age
46- 49 I4 Myr e_Age Lower uncertainty in age
51- 69 A19 --- r_Age Source of the adopted isochrone fit
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Note (1): AV is listed only for clusters whose adopted isochrone fitting was
performed in this work.
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Acknowledgements:
D.R. Miller, drmiller(at)phas.ubc.ca
License: CC-BY-4.0 [see https://spdx.org/licenses/]
(End) Patricia Vannier [CDS] 25-Mar-2026