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Title: WDEC: A Code for Modeling White Dwarf Structure and Pulsations

Journal Article · · The Astronomical Journal (Online)

The White Dwarf Evolution Code (WDEC), written in Fortran, makes models of white dwarf stars. It is fast, versatile, and includes the latest physics. The code evolves hot (~100,000 K) input models down to a chosen effective temperature by relaxing the models to be solutions of the equations of stellar structure. Here, the code can also be used to obtain g-mode oscillation modes for the models. WDEC has a long history going back to the late 1960s. Over the years, it has been updated and re-packaged for modern computer architectures and has specifically been used in computationally intensive asteroseismic fitting. Generations of white dwarf astronomers and dozens of publications have made use of the WDEC, although the last true instrument paper is the original one, published in 1975. This paper discusses the history of the code, necessary to understand why it works the way it does, details the physics and features in the code today, and points the reader to where to find the code and a user guide.

Research Organization:
The Univ.of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
Grant/Contract Number:
NA0003843
OSTI ID:
1514497
Journal Information:
The Astronomical Journal (Online), Vol. 155, Issue 5; ISSN 1538-3881
Publisher:
IOP Publishing - AAASCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 23 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (4)

The Impact of White Dwarf Luminosity Profiles on Oscillation Frequencies text January 2018
TESS first look at evolved compact pulsators: Asteroseismology of the pulsating helium-atmosphere white dwarf TIC 257459955 journal November 2019
The Impact of White Dwarf Luminosity Profiles on Oscillation Frequencies journal November 2018
TESS first look at evolved compact pulsators: asteroseismology of the pulsating helium-atmosphere white dwarf TIC 257459955 text January 2019

Figures / Tables (11)