Astronomy 241 Problem Set #9

Due Friday 22 April 2011, 5pm, my office (420 B&L). Solo problems: If you havent already read about it, its worth remembering some of the points from Carl Sagans Baloney Detection Kit http://www.carlsagan.com/index_ideascontent.htm 1. Supernova Sun? A friend of yours read in a tabloid that the Sun will supernova some time soon. After buying the stuff that he is panic selling at extremely low prices, give three arguments (pieces of evidence, strongly supported theory, etc.) that this is so unlikely that it can be considered impossible. If parts of your argument hinge on theory, then provide some observational evidence that supports theory. 2. The Iron Sun? A chemist from U. Missouri-Rolla has been telling astronomers (and the media) for years that he thinks that the Sun (1) is made mostly of iron, and (2) contains a neutron star in its core, and (3) the solar system was formed from a supernova that collapsed in on itself (do not confuse this with the popular idea that debris from a supernova including short-lived radionuclides - was likely mixed in with the molecular cloud that collapsed to form the solar system). A strong argument has to be strong at every point in the chain of reasoning. Provide three pieces of evidence or arguments that this idea is unlikely to be true (i.e. arguments that negate any of his three ideas). Can we rule out this idea outright? Black holes in the lab? The Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collider (RHIC) at Brookhaven National Laboratory accelerates heavy nuclei usually Au, for which -- to speeds (in the lab frame) of 0.99995c, and smashes beams of these high-energy particles together, head on, in an effort to produce small amounts of quark-gluon plasma, a state of matter that has not existed since the Universe was about a microsecond old. Some people with little scientific knowledge but much access to TV cameras have alleged that RHIC is dangerous. They claim that small black holes will form in these Au-Au collisions, which would grow rapidly by accreting particles in their surroundings, and eventually run away and accrete the entire Earth. Lets check out these claims. (Answer each of the following questions.) a. At rest the radius of a gold nucleus is about Suppose, in the scenario most favorable for black-hole formation, that two gold nuclei collide exactly head-on, and the product winds up initially at rest in the lab but occupying a short cylinder with radius r, but height d given by the Lorentz-contracted diameter of one pre-collision gold nucleus. What is the ratio of d to the Schwarzschild radius for an object with the same mass as two Au nuclei? What is the ratio of density of the maximally-compacted nuclei to the density (in the view of a distant observer) of a black hole of the same mass? Are we safe in assuming that black holes will not form in these collisions? But never mind that lets suppose that a black hole somehow forms. How long will it last before it evaporates via Hawking radiation? How far can another gold nucleus in the beam move during that time? What is the probability that another nucleus from the beam will be within this range, and be accreted by the new black hole before it evaporates? Are we safe in assuming that even if a black hole were somehow to form, it would be harmless?

3.

b.

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Astronomy 241, Spring 2011

GROUP PROBLEMS N. In problem L done in the Team problems two weeks ago you were asked whether the factor C in the polytropic pressure equation of state, is really a constant in the application of polytropes to fully-convective stars. You concluded (I hope) that it is not; in general it changes from star to star. Now it has come to pass that the equation of state is polytropic for electron-degeneracy-pressuresupported stars, too. Is the factor C in the white-dwarf equation of state a constant, or should it vary from star to star? That is, is the relation between C, M, and R a real mass-radius relation for white dwarfs? If not, explain why not. If so, give an expression for the mass-radius relation for nonrelativistic electron-degeneracy-pressure-supported stars, and plot the resulting circumference as a function of mass in the range O. As a result of the group problems in Problem Set #7, everyone now has their very own stellarstructure code that works on polytropes. And, as we have shown, white dwarfs are polytropes. So Use your Mathematica polytrope-structure document to calculate the values of density, pressure, and Fermi energy at the center; the radius R; and the density, pressure, and as functions of radius within the star, for a carbon-oxygen white dwarf of mass Plot the density, pressure, and against radius as well. Assume that the nonrelativistic equation of state will suffice, and that everywhere within. Study your plot of . Is a substantial portion of a real white dwarfs mass likely to be nondegenerate? Why or why not? Q. Plot the cooling curve the luminosity as a function of effective temperature and time for white dwarfs, in the mass range , and in the time range 0-10 Gyr in 1-Gyr steps. (By the way, 1 Gyr = Ignore crystallization in your calculations. Plot on the same graph the luminosity and effective temperature for the stars in the third Gliese catalogue of nearby stars, which you can download from our Web site. And then answer the following questions: what mass range is typical for white dwarfs, and approximately how old is the Milky Way Galaxy? Homework teams: Team Antares: Barenfeld, Hasan, Khaitan, Kraus Team Bellatrix: Brown, Lanman, Schoeniger, Shroyer Team Mirfak: Lombardo, Sheehan, Kitner Team Betelgeuse: Shroyer, Kneen, Biemer

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