White dwarfs were originally normal stars, comparable to the Sun, until they ran out of fuel and imploded. It has previously been challenging to analyze these interstellar relics. However, a recent study from Lund University in Sweden reveals new information about the movement patterns of these puzzling stars.
The radius of a white dwarf is roughly 1% that of the Sun. Due to their similar mass, they have an astonishing density of 1 tonne per cubic centimeter, which is astounding.
White dwarfs eventually cool down to the point that they stop generating visible light and transform into so-called black dwarfs after billions of years. 40 Eridani A was the first white dwarf to be found.
A binary system made up of the white dwarf 40 Eridani B and the red dwarf 40 Eridani C surrounds this luminous celestial body, which is located 16.2 light-years from Earth.
Astronomers have worked to learn more about white dwarfs ever since they were discovered in 1783 in an effort to comprehend the evolution of our galaxy.
A research team can give fresh information regarding how the collapsing stars travel in a paper that was published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
This study is important because we learned more about the closest regions in our galaxy. The results are also interesting because our own star, the Sun, will one day turn into a white dwarf just like 97 percent of all stars in the Milky Way.
Daniel Mikkola
“Thanks to observations from the Gaia space telescope, we have for the first time managed to reveal the three-dimensional velocity distribution for the largest catalogue of white dwarfs to date. This gives us a detailedpicture of their velocity structurewith unparalleled detail,” says Daniel Mikkola, doctoral student in astronomy at Lund University.
Gaia has allowed scientists to determine the locations and velocities of around 1.5 billion stars. However, they have only just been able to fully concentrate on the white dwarfs in the Solar neighborhood.
“We have managed to map the white dwarfs’ velocities and movement patterns. Gaia revealed that there are two parallel sequences of white dwarfs when looking at their temperature and brightness. If we study these separately, we can see that they move in different ways, probably as a consequence of them having different masses and lifetimes,” says Daniel Mikkola.
To continue mapping the evolution of the Milky Way, new simulations and models can be created using the findings. The researchers aim to be able to clarify a number of uncertainties regarding the formation of the Milky Way through a greater understanding of the white dwarfs.
“This study is important because we learned more about the closest regions in our galaxy. The results are also interesting because our own star, the Sun, will one day turn into a white dwarf just like 97 percent of all stars in the Milky Way,” concludes Daniel Mikkola.
