If the MACHOs are Old White Dwarfs

Abstract

The microlensing experiments in the direction of the LMC seem to be indicating that about 60% of the dark matter in the Galactic halo is tied up in objects whose masses are about half the mass of the Sun. This mass is a natural one for old white dwarfs although other possibilities do exist. Using a grid of newly constructed models of cooling white dwarfs which incorporate for the first time the effects of molecular opacity in the stellar atmosphere, and assuming that such white dwarfs make up the entire Galactic dark matter, I predict the numbers of old white dwarfs expected in various surveys currently being conducted. In particular, I note the number to be expected in the Hubble Deep Field (HDF), the deepest image of the sky yet obtained.