Nature
Published January 9, 2019 13:00 ET
White dwarfs are stellar embers depleted of nuclear energy sources that cool over billions of years. For the first time, researchers have observed evolving white dwarf stars that cool more slowly than had been previously thought. Their observations and subsequent modelling support the theory that processes within a white dwarf lead to the crystallization of carbon and oxygen ions in the core, which releases latent heat and delays the cooling process by about one billion years. The researchers also found evidence that the freeing of gravitational energy in the crystallizing cores further slows cooling. The results could help researchers better determine the age of stars.
Canadian co-author: Gilles Fontaine, Université de Montréal – fontaine@astro.umontreal.ca
