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Immiscibilities in cold, degenerate Stars

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 April 2016

D. J. Stevenson
D. J. Stevenson*
Affiliation:
Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University
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Extract

The deep interiors of cold, degenerate stars consist of a mixture of elements, either because of primordial inhomogeneities or because of incomplete nuclear burning. However, most existing calculations for the cooling of such bodies (subsequent to any nuclear burning) assume that the only source of luminosity is the heat content of the star. An additional (and potentially much larger) energy source is available if the elements have limited mutual solubility below some temperature. The resulting differentiation and gravitational settling can dramatically decrease the rate of cooling, enhance the number of (potentially) observable low luminosity bodies, and may deplete the atmosphere of heavy elements (if substantial mixing between the atmosphere and deep interior occurs). The observational evidence for these phenomena is equivocal at present.

Type
Contributions
Information
Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia , Volume 3 , Issue 2 , September 1977 , pp. 167 - 168
Copyright
Copyright © Astronomical Society of Australia 1977

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