DOUBLE DEGENERATE MERGERS AS PROGENITORS OF HIGH-FIELD MAGNETIC WHITE DWARFS

Abstract

High-field magnetic white dwarfs have been long suspected to be the result of\nstellar mergers. However, the nature of the coalescing stars and the precise\nmechanism that produces the magnetic field are still unknown. Here we show that\nthe hot, convective, differentially rotating corona present in the outer layers\nof the remnant of the merger of two degenerate cores is able to produce\nmagnetic fields of the required strength that do not decay for long timescales.\nWe also show, using an state-of-the-art Monte Carlo simulator, that the\nexpected number of high-field magnetic white dwarfs produced in this way is\nconsistent with that found in the Solar neighborhood.\n