Date/Time: Thu Mar 06 2025 at 14:00<br/><br/>Location: Auditorium/ Hybrid<br/><br/>Speaker: Simon Blouin (UVic)<br/><br/>Title: When stellar evolution takes a break: A 10-billion-year pause in white dwarf cooling<br/><br/>Abstract: Join Zoom Meeting
https://uvic.zoom.us/j/88957214995?pwd=Hicx8P45ibhM0MDVxAmxAvDp6yzN3O.1
Meeting ID: 889 5721 4995
Password: 950274
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White dwarfs cool down over billions of years and eventually freeze into a solid state. It was recently discovered that some white dwarfs maintain a constant luminosity for a duration comparable to the age of the universe. This surprising finding challenges the conventional portrayal of white dwarfs as dead stars that inexorably cool down. Over the past few years, much work has gone into identifying the nature of the energy source that prevents these white dwarfs from aging. In this talk, I will show how a solid?liquid distillation mechanism involving neutron-rich impurities interrupts white dwarf cooling for billions of years and explains all the observational properties of the unusual delayed population. This has important implications for the use of white dwarfs in dating stellar populations.
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Students and postdocs have the opportunity to chat with Simon after the colloquium (~15:15 in the cafeteria).<br/><br/>Refreshments available 15min before the colloquium. BYOM- Bring your own mug!<br/><br/>______________________________<br/><br/>Detailed information available can be found at <a href='https://www.triumf.ca/research-program/lectures-conferences/upcoming-seminars-lectures'>https://www.triumf.ca/research-program/lectures-conferences/upcoming-seminars-lectures</a> <br/><br/>