Five New Sirius-like White Dwarf–Main-sequence Star Systems with MagAO-X
Abstract Most known white dwarfs in multiple systems with main-sequence stars have been discovered with M-type companions, because the white dwarf causes detectable UV excess and bluer colors than expected from a single M star. Surveys have shown that the number of white dwarfs in Sirius-like systems within 100 pc of the Sun is lower than expected, suggesting that white dwarfs are being missed in the glare of their main-sequence companions. In this work we have leveraged the angular resolution and high-contrast capabilities, as well as optimization for visible wavelengths, of the extreme adaptive optics (ExAO) instrument MagAO-X to detect new white dwarf companions to AFGK stars. We present the first results of our survey with the ExAO instrument MagAO-X, called The ExAO Pup Search, of 18 targets with seven new candidate companions, five of which are confirmed to be white dwarfs. We discuss the new detections in the context of previous surveys and other detection metric sensitivities and show that we are sensitive to a region not probed by other surveys. Finally we discuss the future of the Pup Search in light of developing technologies.
Authors
- Jialin Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8110-7226)
- Alycia J. Weinberger (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6654-7859)
- Maggie Kautz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3253-2952)
- Olivier Guyon (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1097-9908)
- Laird M. Close (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2167-8246)
- Eden McEwen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0843-5140)
- Jay K. Kueny (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8531-038X)
- Victor Gasho
- Joshua Liberman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4934-3042)
- Warren B. Foster
- Joseph D. Long (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1905-9443)
- Avalon L. McLeod
- Logan Pearce (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3904-7378)
- Jared R. Males (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2346-3441)
- Kyle Van Gorkom (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4877-7762)
- Katie M. Morzinski (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1384-0063)
- Sebastiaan Y. Haffert (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5130-9153)
- Philip M. Hinz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1954-4564)
- Jennifer Lumbres (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3525-2262)
- Lauren Schatz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5192-521X)
- Katie Twitchell (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-9752-2114)
- Elena Tonucci (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-4370-822X)
- Alexander D. Hedglen
Publication Details
- Journal
- The Astronomical Journal
- Published
- 2025-06-27
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/addb50
- Primary Topic
- Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00