Skip to content

Evolutionary Timescale of the DAV G117-B15A: The Most Stable Optical Clock Known

S. O. Kepler, Anjum Mukadam, D. E. Winget, R. E. Nather, T. S. Metcalfe, M. D. Reed, S. D. Kawaler, Paul A. Bradley

astro-pharXiv:astro-ph/0003478

Abstract

We observe G117-B15A, the most precise optical clock known, to measure the rate of change of the main pulsation period of this blue-edge DAV white dwarf. Even though the obtained value is only within 1 sigma, Pdot = (2.3 +/- 1.4) x 10-15 s/s, it is already constraining the evolutionary timescale of this cooling white dwarf star.

Create a lesson