A Critical Test of Crystallization in White Dwarf Stars

Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics

Scientific paper

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Hst Proposal Id #7401 Hot Stars And Stellar Corpses

Scientific paper

Our theoretical calculations indicate that the massive pulsating DA white dwarf , BPM 37093 has a crystallized ion interior. Crystallization was predicted theoretically over 35 years ago, and in spite of its importance in astrophysics we have no direct observational tests of the theory. Uncertainties in the nature and extent of crystallization, and its associated effects, are the largest source of uncertainty in calculating the ages of the coolest white dwarf stars---an important chronometer for the galactic disk. We plan to use the techniques of asteroseismology to measure the crystallized mass-fraction of BPM 37093. This requires the determination of the spherical harmonic degree, ell, of the pulsation frequencies by comparing the amplitude of each pulsation in the optical and the UV. We will use FUV-MAMA with the G140L grating in TIME-TAG mode to obtain time series spectrophotometry in the UV. We will obtain simultaneous optical photometry to insure a good optical amplitude measurement.

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