Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
Apr 2004
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2004aps..oss.a4001a&link_type=abstract
American Physical Society, Ohio Section Spring 2004, April 16-17, 2004, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio, MEETING ID: OSS04, abstra
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
Scientific paper
This talk outlines astrophysical issues related to the long term fate of the universe. We consider the evolution of planets, stars, galaxies, and the cosmos itself over time scales that greatly exceed the current age of the universe. This discussion starts with stellar evolution calculations that follow the development of the low mass (M type) stars that dominate the stellar IMF. We then determine the final mass distribution of stellar remnants -- the neutron stars, white dwarfs, and brown dwarfs remaining at the end of stellar evolution. After several trillion years, the supply of interstellar gas grows depleted, yet star formation continues at a highly attenuated rate through brown dwarf collisions. This process tails off as the galaxy gradually loses its stars by ejecting the majority, and driving a minority toward accretion onto massive black holes. As the galaxy disperses, weakly interacting dark matter particles are accreted by white dwarfs, where they annihilate and keep the old stellar remnants relatively ``warm''. After accounting for the destruction of the galaxy, we consider the fate of expelled degenerate objects (planets, white dwarfs, and neutron stars) under the assumption that proton decay is a viable process. The evolution and eventual sublimation of these objects is dictated by the decay of their constituent nucleons. After white dwarfs and neutron stars have disappeared, the black holes slowly lose their mass as they emit Hawking radiation. When the largest black holes have evaporated, the universe slowly slides into darkness.
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