On the incidence of weak magnetic fields in DA white dwarfs

Context. About 10% of white dwarfs have magnetic fields with strength in the range between about 105 and 5 × 108 G. It is not known whether the remaining white dwarfs are not magnetic, or if they have magnetic fields too weak to be detected with the techniques adopted in the large surveys. Information is particularly lacking for the cooler (and generally fainter) white dwarfs.