Caltech Astronomy Public Lecture Series - Hunting for Extreme White Dwarfs - Ilaria Caiazzo - 10/15/2021

What happens to stars when they die, and how do these white dwarfs differ from normal stars? What are the properties of these extreme objects and what does it tell us about the universe? Timestamps and links below: Announcements: 00:00​ White Dwarfs Introduction: 4:46 White Dwarfs Presentation: 7:00 Q&A Introductions: 36:55 Q&A: 40:12 Concluding Remarks: 1:59:54 Abstract: White dwarfs possess a mass comparable to that of our Sun packed in the size of a planet, or even smaller, a moon! These incredibly dense and small blue objects are the most common remnants of stars (the Sun will become a white dwarf in the distant future), but they still hide secrets and mysteries. I will discuss how a small telescope at the Palomar observatory, ZTF, is allowing us to discover white dwarfs with extreme properties, like huge magnetic fields and rapid rotation speeds. These discoveries are leading to new insights into the lives of white dwarfs as well as how our galaxy itself has evolved over billions of years. Dr. Ilaria Caiazzo is an astrophysics postdoc at Caltech. She is interested in stars, in their lives and in their afterlives. Her main focus is on the remnants of stellar deaths: white dwarfs, neutron stars, and black holes. When she’s not looking at stars, she is watching movies, and she sometimes writes or produces small ones. http://ilariacaiazzo.com/ Ivey Davis is a second year, astrophysics grad student at Caltech. Their main interests are the magnetic fields of stars and exoplanets and the effects that stellar storms have on exoplanet habitability. Outside of their work at Caltech, they enjoy baking pastries and looking for a good coffee in Pasadena. Evan Haze Nuñez is a third year graduate student studying astrophysics at Caltech. His work involves using rare objects to measure the metals that were ejected from the first stars! He loves science outreach and has been active in it since 2015 during his first year at community college. He is a Southern California native, avid music lover (hip-hop/rap, Jazz, indie alternative, bedroom pop, lo-fi beats), a console gamer (PS4 and Switch), and loves the outdoors (in comfortable bursts). https://evanhazey.github.io/evanhazenunez/ Dr. Cameron Hummels is a postdoctoral researcher in theoretical astrophysics at Caltech. He creates supercomputer simulations to study the formation and evolution of galaxies since the Big Bang. In addition to astrophysics and public education, he is really enthusiastic about trail-running, long-distance backpacking, brewing, chess, and the astronaut program. http://chummels.org