This week there is a new article from Noemi Jammichele, who received her doctorate in 2016. Her analysis and conclusions are based on the observations of the Kepler telescope. With his help, it was possible to accurately display the interior of a pulsating white dwarf and study the composition. It turned out that sometimes the vibrations of a star reach the center.
White dwarfs are the main remnants for 97% of the stars in space. Stars slowly die, losing temperature and experiencing instability with vibrations. These deep vibrations are the key to observing the inside of the stellar remains.
The white dwarf KIC08626021 lives at a distance of 1375 light years from us and is barely visible in telescopes. However, Kepler managed to focus on him for a long period of time. In size it resembles the Earth. What did the star show?
Larger Core
The star is located at the edges of the Swan and Lyra territories. Attentive review showed that its carbon and oxygen core is twice as large as expected in theory. This is an important conclusion that will force to reconsider the process of star death. But confirmation is needed on the example of other stars, since scientists could have encountered an anomaly.
Did a breakthrough happen?
Previously, such conclusions could not be reached, since there were no tools for observing such objects. Interestingly, Jammichele applied the methods to calculate the aerodynamics of the wings of the aircraft, which led to the creation of a new approach to study. She is glad that one of her articles was able to reach a wide audience. Of course, the result pushes many questions and needs future observations, but it can shed light on new details of the stellar evolution process.
