Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 April 2016
The variable white dwarfs repeatedly force theory to conform to their observed properties so that further progress can be made in understanding the structure and evolution of all white dwarfs. We use the term “understanding” in a loose sense here because, as we will show, both observational constraints and interpretation of the observations vis-à-vis theory contribute to uncertainties in our understanding at this time. In any case, recent progress in this field (sometimes called white dwarf seismology) has provided some fascinating insights into the evolutionary and structural properties of white dwarfs and their progenitors. This short review is our attempt to describe recent progress made in the interaction of theory with observations.