Kilic

RESEARCH DESCRIPTION

I am interested in identifying and characterizing the white dwarf population in the solar neighborhood, including single and double white dwarf systems. We have recently identified binary white dwarf systems with orbital periods as short as 12 minutes. These systems will merge in a few million years and possibly form faint supernovae. The LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna) mission will detect gravitational waves from these systems, enabling precise constraints on their evolution.

I am also interested in the formation and the fate of planetary systems around Sun-like stars. The short main-sequence lifetimes of intermediate-mass stars and the small radii of remnant white dwarfs impy that the planetary systems around massive stars can be effectively studied after the hosts have been transformed into white dwarfs. Along with pulsars, white dwarfs also provide a unique opportunity to study the effects of the late stages of stellar evolution on planetary systems. I use ground- and space-based telescopes to search for planetary companions and debris disks around white dwarfs.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

"Two new double-lined spectroscopic binary white dwarfs,"Kilic, M., Bedard, A., Bergeron, P., Kosakowski, A.,Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society,493, 2805, (2020)ADS: 2020MNRAS.493.2805KarXiv: arXiv:2002.06214DOI: 10.1093/mnras/staa466

"A 1201 s Orbital Period Detached Binary: The First Double Helium Core White Dwarf LISA Verification Binary,"Brown, W. R., Kilic, M., Bedard, A., Kosakowski, A., Bergeron, P.,Astrophysical Journal,892, 35, (2020)ADS: 2020ApJ...892L..35BarXiv: arXiv:2004.00641DOI: 10.3847/2041-8213/ab8228

"The ELM Survey South. I. An Effective Search for Extremely Low Mass White Dwarfs,"Kosakowski, A., Kilic, M., Brown, W. R.; Gianninas, A.,Astrophysical Journal,894, 53, (2020)ADS: 2020ApJ...894...53KarXiv: arXiv:2004.04202DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/ab8300

"The 100 pc White Dwarf Sample in the SDSS Footprint,"Kilic, M., Bergeron, P., Kosakowski, A., Brown, W. R., Agueros, M. A., Blouin, S.,Astrophysical Journal,898, 84, (2020)ADS: 2020ApJ...898...84KarXiv: arXiv:2006.00323DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/ab9b8d

"GALEX absolute calibration and extinction coefficients based on white dwarfs,"Wall, R. E., Kilic, M., Bergeron, P., Rolland, B., Genest-Beaulieu, C., Gianninas, A.,MNRAS,489, 5046, (2019)ADS: 2019MNRAS.489.5046WarXiv: arXiv:1909.02617DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stz2506

"The DECam minute cadence survey - II. 49 variables but no planetary transits of a white dwarf,"Dame, K., Belardi, C., Kilic, M., Rest, A., Gianninas, A., Barber, S., Brown, W. R.,Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society,490, 1066, (2019)ADS: 2019MNRAS.490.1066DarXiv: arXiv:1902.04075DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stz398