Paper detail

Diffusion coefficients in the envelopes of white dwarfs

The diffusion of elements is a key process in understanding the unusual surface composition of white dwarfs stars and their spectral evolution. The diffusion coefficients of Paquette et al. (1986) have been widely used to model diffusion in white dwarfs. We perform new calculations of the coefficients of inter-diffusion and ionic thermal diffusion with 1) a more advanced model that uses a recent modification of the calculation of the collision integrals that is more suitable for the partially ionized, partially degenerate and moderately coupled plasma, and 2) classical molecular dynamics. The coefficients are evaluated for silicon and calcium in white dwarf envelopes of hydrogen and helium. A comparison of our results with Paquette et al. shows that the latter systematically underestimates the coefficient of inter-diffusion yet provides reliable estimates for the relatively weakly coupled plasmas found in nearly all types of stars as well as in white dwarfs with hydrogen envelopes. In white dwarfs with cool helium envelopes (Teff < 15000K), the difference grows to more than a factor of two. We also explored the effect of the ionization model used to determine the charges of the ions and found that it can be a substantial source of discrepancy between different calculations. Finally, we consider the relative diffusion time scales of Si and Ca in the context of the pollution of white dwarf photospheres by accreted planetesimals and find factor of > 3 differences between calculations based on Paquette et al. and our model.