Comparing population synthesis models of compact double white dwarfs to electromagnetic observations

Context . Studies of the Galactic population of double white dwarfs (DWDs) that would be detectable in gravitational waves by LISA have found differences in the number of predicted detectable DWDs of more than an order of magnitude, depending on the binary stellar evolution model used. Particularly, the binary population synthesis code BPASS predicts 20–40 times fewer detectable DWDs than the codes S E B A or BSE , which relates to differing treatments of mass transfer and common-envelope events (CEEs). Aims . Our aim is to investigate which of these models is closer to reality by comparing their predictions to the DWDs known from electromagnetic observations. Methods . We compared the DWDs predicted by a BPASS galaxy model and a S E B A galaxy model to a DWD catalogue and to the sample of DWDs observed by the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF), taking into account the observational limits and biases of the ZTF survey. Results . We find that BPASS underpredicts the number of short-period DWDs by at least an order of magnitude compared to the observations, while the S E B A galaxy model is consistent with the observations for DWDs more distant than 500 pc. These results highlight how LISA’s observations of DWDs will provide invaluable information on aspects of stellar evolution such as mass transfer and CEEs, thereby allowing theoretical models to be better constrained.