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    The Physics of Crystallization from Globular Cluster White Dwarf Stars in NGC 6397

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    2009_03_Winget.pdf (246.0Kb)
    Date
    2009-03
    Author
    Winget, D. E.
    Kepler, S. O.
    Campos, Fabiola
    Montgomery, M. H.
    Girardi, Leo
    Bergeron, P.
    Williams, Kurtis
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    Abstract
    We explore the physics of crystallization in the deep interiors of white dwarf (WD) stars using the color-magnitude diagram and luminosity function constructed from proper- motion cleaned Hubble Space Telescope photometry of the globular cluster NGC 6397. We demonstrate that the data are consistent with the theory of crystallization of the ions in the interior of WD stars and provide the first empirical evidence that the phase transition is first order: latent heat is released in the process of crystallization as predicted by van Horn. We outline how these data can be used to observationally constrain the value of Gamma = E(Coulomb)/E(thermal) near the onset of crystallization, the central carbon/oxygen abundance, and the importance of phase separation.
    Department
    Astronomy
    Subject
    dense matter
    equation of state
    globular clusters: individual (ngc
    6397)
    stars: luminosity function, mass function
    white dwarfs
    monte-carlo calculations
    cooling sequence
    luminosity function
    giant
    branch
    ngc-6397
    asteroseismology
    evolution
    plasma
    mixtures
    equation
    astronomy & astrophysics
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/2152/42970
    Citation
    Winget, Donald Earl, Souza Oliveira Kepler, Fabíola Campos, Michael Houston Montgomery, Leo Girardi, Pierre Bergeron, and Kurtis Williams. "The physics of crystallization from globular cluster white dwarf stars in NGC 6397." The Astrophysical Journal Letters, Vol. 693, No. 1 (Mar., 2009): L6.
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    • facebook
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    © The University of Texas at Austin