July 20, 2018 8-10PM

Event Type: Lecture and Stargazing
Title: A Stellar Diamond Named Lucy
Lecturer: Donal O'Sullivan
Position: Graduate Student
Institution: Caltech
Abstract:
White Dwarfs are the final stage in the life of low-mass stars like our own Sun. They are made up of intensely compact, (degenerate) matter — mostly carbon and oxygen. Over cosmic timescales, these dwarfs radiate away their energy and begin to cool down. In the 1960s, theorists suggested that eventually, some White Dwarfs should become cold enough to crystallize. It would be forty years later before this theory was confirmed observationally, through the discovery of a diamond White Dwarf: Lucy. In this talk, we will look at white dwarfs, how they form, what they are made of, how they cool, and ultimately how they might become star-sized diamonds.