Presentation Archive

Not so simple after all: White dwarf evolution in the era of Gaia

Simon Blouin (University of Victoria)

November 22, 2021

Abstract: White dwarf evolution is often described as a simple cooling process that naturally provides accurate age determinations. In reality, fundamental aspects of white dwarf cooling remain poorly understood. The extent of current uncertainties has been clearly demonstrated by Gaia DR2, which revealed that some white dwarfs undergo multi-Gyr cooling delays not predicted by current cooling models. In this talk, I will present my recent theoretical work aimed at improving the constitutive physics of white dwarf cooling models and discuss outstanding uncertainties that need to be addressed before white dwarf cosmochronology can reach its full potential.