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Low mass helium-core white dwarfs (M < 0.45 Msun) can be produced frominteracting binary systems, and traditionally all of them have been attributedto this channel. However, a low mass white dwarf could also result from asingle star that experiences severe mass loss on the first ascent giant branch.A large population of low mass He-core white dwarfs has been discovered in theold metal-rich cluster NGC 6791. There is therefore a mechanism in clusters toproduce low mass white dwarfs without requiring binary star interactions, andwe search for evidence of a similar population in field white dwarfs. We arguethat there is a significant field population (of order half of the detectedsystems) that arises from old metal rich stars which truncate their evolutionprior to the helium flash from severe mass loss. There is a consistent absenceof evidence for nearby companions in a large fraction of low mass white dwarfs.The number of old metal-rich field dwarfs is also comparable with theapparently single low mass white dwarf population, and our revised estimate forthe space density of low mass white dwarfs produced from binary interactions isalso compatible with theoretical expectations. This indicates that this channelof stellar evolution, hitherto thought hypothetical only, has been in operationin our own Galaxy for many billions of years. One strong implication of ourmodel is that single low mass white dwarfs should be good targets for planetsearches because they are likely to arise from metal-rich progenitors. We alsodiscuss other observational tests and implications, including the potentialimpact on SN Ia rates and the frequency of planetary nebulae.

The Future is Now: the Formation of Single Low Mass White Dwarfs in the Solar Neighborhood