Current challenges in the physics of white dwarf stars
Abstract
White dwarfs are a class of stars with unique physical properties. They present many challenging problems whose solution requires advanced theories of dense matter, state-of-the-art experimental techniques, and extensive computing efforts. New ground- and space-based observatories will soon provide an increasingly detailed view of white dwarf stars and reveal new phenomena that will challenge our models. This review is an introduction to the nature of white dwarfs, the physical processes that determine their structure and evolution, and the physical conditions they span. We discuss a wide variety of currently unsolved or partially resolved problems in their constitutive physics that are broadly related to equations of state, transport processes and opacities.
- Publication:
-
Physics Reports
- Pub Date:
- November 2022
- DOI:
- 10.1016/j.physrep.2022.09.001
- arXiv:
- arXiv:2209.02846
- Bibcode:
- 2022PhR...988....1S
- Keywords:
-
- Stars;
- White dwarfs;
- Physical processes;
- Dense plasmas;
- Equation of state;
- Phase diagrams;
- Chemical equilibrium;
- Opacities;
- Diffusion coefficients;
- Thermal conductivity;
- Convection;
- Astrophysics - Solar and Stellar Astrophysics;
- Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena;
- Physics - Atomic Physics;
- Physics - Chemical Physics;
- Physics - Plasma Physics
- E-Print:
- Review article to appear in Physics Reports. 108 pages of text, 33 figures, 372 references