---
DOAJ_listed: '1'
OA_place: publisher
OA_type: gold
PlanS_conform: '1'
_id: '21725'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: "The initial–final mass relation (IFMR) links a star’s birth mass to the mass
    of its white dwarf (WD) remnant, providing key constraints on stellar evolution.
    Open clusters offer the most straightforward way to empirically determine the
    IFMR, as their well-defined ages allow for direct progenitor lifetime estimates.
    We construct the most comprehensive open cluster WD IFMR to date by combining
    new spectroscopy of 22 WDs with an extensive literature review of WDs with strong
    cluster associations. To minimize systematics, we restrict our analysis to spectroscopically
    confirmed hydrogen-atmosphere (DA) WDs consistent with single-stellar origins.
    We separately analyze a subset with reliable Gaia-based astrometric membership
    assessments, as well as a full sample that adds WDs with strong cluster associations
    whose membership cannot be reliably assessed with Gaia. The Gaia-based sample
    includes 69 spectroscopically confirmed DA WDs, more than doubling the sample
    size of previous Gaia-based open cluster IFMRs. The full sample, which includes
    53 additional literature WDs,\r\nincreases the total number of cluster WDs by
    over 50% relative to earlier works. We provide functional forms for both the Gaia-based
    and full-sample IFMRs. The Gaia-based result useful for Mi � 2.67 M⊙ is Mf = [0.179
    0.100H (Mi 3.84 M )] × (Mi 3.84 M ) + 0.628 M , where H(x) is the Heaviside step
    function. Comparing our IFMR to recent literature, we identify significant deviations
    from best-fit IFMRs derived from both Gaia-based volume-limited samples of field
    WDs and double WD binaries, with the largest discrepancy occurring for initial
    masses of about 5 M⊙."
acknowledgement: "The authors would like to thank the anonymous referee for their
  constructive feedback, which helped improve the clarify of the manuscript. This
  work was supported in part by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council
  of Canada Discovery grants Nos. DG-RGPIN-2022-03051 and DG-RGPIN-2023-04486. This
  research received funding from the European Research Council under the European
  Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program number 101002408 (MOS100PC).
  This work includes results based on observations obtained at the international Gemini
  Observatory, a program of NSF’s NOIRLab, which is managed by the Association of
  Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) under a cooperative agreement with
  the National Science Foundation on behalf of the Gemini Observatory partnership:
  the National Science Foundation (United States), National Research Council (Canada),
  Agencia Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo (Chile), Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología
  e Innovación (Argentina), Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia, Inovações e Comunicações
  (Brazil), and Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (Republic of Korea). This
  work has made use of data from the European Space Agency (ESA) mission Gaia (https://www.cosmos.esa.int/gaia),
  processed by the Gaia Data Processing and Analysis Consortium (DPAC, https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/dpac/consortium).
  Funding for the DPAC has been provided by national institutions, in particular the
  institutions participating in the Gaia Multilateral Agreement. Some of the data
  presented herein were obtained at the W. M. Keck Observatory, which is operated
  as a scientific partnership among the California Institute of Technology, the University
  of California, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The Observatory
  was made possible by the generous financial support of the W. M. Keck Foundation.
  Gemini spectra were processed using the DRAGONS package (K. Labrie et al. 2023).
  LRIS spectra were reduced using the Lpipe pipeline (D. A. Perley 2019).\r\n\r\nFacilities:
  Gaia - (DR2 & DR3), Gemini:Gillett - Gillett Gemini North Telescope (GMOS-N), Gemini:South
  - Gemini South Telescope (GMOS-S), Keck:I - KECK I Telescope (LRIS).\r\n\r\nSoftware:
  Astropy (Astropy Collaboration et al. 2013,2018, 2022), emcee (D. Foreman-Mackey
  et al. 2013)."
article_number: '69'
article_processing_charge: Yes
article_type: original
arxiv: 1
author:
- first_name: David R.
  full_name: Miller, David R.
  last_name: Miller
- first_name: Ilaria
  full_name: Caiazzo, Ilaria
  id: 8ae5b6e7-2a03-11ee-914d-b58ed7a3b47d
  last_name: Caiazzo
  orcid: 0000-0002-4770-5388
- first_name: Jeremy
  full_name: Heyl, Jeremy
  last_name: Heyl
- first_name: Harvey B.
  full_name: Richer, Harvey B.
  last_name: Richer
- first_name: Mark A.
  full_name: Hollands, Mark A.
  last_name: Hollands
- first_name: Pier Emmanuel
  full_name: Tremblay, Pier Emmanuel
  last_name: Tremblay
- first_name: Kareem
  full_name: El-Badry, Kareem
  last_name: El-Badry
- first_name: Antonio C.
  full_name: Rodriguez, Antonio C.
  last_name: Rodriguez
- first_name: Zachary P.
  full_name: Vanderbosch, Zachary P.
  last_name: Vanderbosch
citation:
  ama: Miller DR, Caiazzo I, Heyl J, et al. The White Dwarf initial–final mass relation
    from open clusters in Gaia DR3. <i>The Astrophysical Journal</i>. 2026;996(1).
    doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ae18c8">10.3847/1538-4357/ae18c8</a>
  apa: Miller, D. R., Caiazzo, I., Heyl, J., Richer, H. B., Hollands, M. A., Tremblay,
    P. E., … Vanderbosch, Z. P. (2026). The White Dwarf initial–final mass relation
    from open clusters in Gaia DR3. <i>The Astrophysical Journal</i>. IOP Publishing.
    <a href="https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ae18c8">https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ae18c8</a>
  chicago: Miller, David R., Ilaria Caiazzo, Jeremy Heyl, Harvey B. Richer, Mark A.
    Hollands, Pier Emmanuel Tremblay, Kareem El-Badry, Antonio C. Rodriguez, and Zachary
    P. Vanderbosch. “The White Dwarf Initial–Final Mass Relation from Open Clusters
    in Gaia DR3.” <i>The Astrophysical Journal</i>. IOP Publishing, 2026. <a href="https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ae18c8">https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ae18c8</a>.
  ieee: D. R. Miller <i>et al.</i>, “The White Dwarf initial–final mass relation from
    open clusters in Gaia DR3,” <i>The Astrophysical Journal</i>, vol. 996, no. 1.
    IOP Publishing, 2026.
  ista: Miller DR, Caiazzo I, Heyl J, Richer HB, Hollands MA, Tremblay PE, El-Badry
    K, Rodriguez AC, Vanderbosch ZP. 2026. The White Dwarf initial–final mass relation
    from open clusters in Gaia DR3. The Astrophysical Journal. 996(1), 69.
  mla: Miller, David R., et al. “The White Dwarf Initial–Final Mass Relation from
    Open Clusters in Gaia DR3.” <i>The Astrophysical Journal</i>, vol. 996, no. 1,
    69, IOP Publishing, 2026, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ae18c8">10.3847/1538-4357/ae18c8</a>.
  short: D.R. Miller, I. Caiazzo, J. Heyl, H.B. Richer, M.A. Hollands, P.E. Tremblay,
    K. El-Badry, A.C. Rodriguez, Z.P. Vanderbosch, The Astrophysical Journal 996 (2026).
date_created: 2026-04-12T22:01:52Z
date_published: 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2026-04-13T08:39:39Z
day: '01'
ddc:
- '520'
department:
- _id: IlCa
doi: 10.3847/1538-4357/ae18c8
external_id:
  arxiv:
  - '2510.24877'
file:
- access_level: open_access
  checksum: 65a8237a519188af83b6dc4d47ad85fa
  content_type: application/pdf
  creator: dernst
  date_created: 2026-04-13T08:36:50Z
  date_updated: 2026-04-13T08:36:50Z
  file_id: '21733'
  file_name: 2026_AstrophysicalJournal_Miller.pdf
  file_size: 19310053
  relation: main_file
  success: 1
file_date_updated: 2026-04-13T08:36:50Z
has_accepted_license: '1'
intvolume: '       996'
issue: '1'
keyword:
- White dwarf stars
- Open star clusters
- Compact objects
- Stellar evolution
language:
- iso: eng
license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
month: '01'
oa: 1
oa_version: Published Version
publication: The Astrophysical Journal
publication_identifier:
  eissn:
  - 1538-4357
  issn:
  - 0004-637X
publication_status: published
publisher: IOP Publishing
quality_controlled: '1'
scopus_import: '1'
status: public
title: The White Dwarf initial–final mass relation from open clusters in Gaia DR3
tmp:
  image: /images/cc_by.png
  legal_code_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode
  name: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0)
  short: CC BY (4.0)
type: journal_article
user_id: 2DF688A6-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
volume: 996
year: '2026'
...