BPM 37093

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BPM 37093

A light curve for V886 Centauri, adapted from Kanaan et al. (1992)[1]
Observation data
ICRS
)
Constellation
Centaurus
Right ascension 12h 38m 49.78112s[2]
Declination −49° 48′ 00.2195″[2]
Apparent magnitude (V) 14.0[3]
Characteristics
Spectral type DAV4.4[4]
Variable type DAV (ZZ Ceti)[4]
Distance
48.39 ± 0.01 ly
(14.836 ± 0.004 pc)
Details
Mass1.10[5] M☉
Radius0.0057 R☉
Luminosity0.001[6] L☉
Surface gravity (log g)8.81 ± 0.05[7] cgs
Temperature11730 ± 350[7] K
V886 Cen, BPM 37093, GJ 2095, LFT 931, LHS 2594, LTT 4816, WD 1236-495[3]
Database references
SIMBADdata
ARICNSdata

BPM 37093 (V886 Centauri) is a

thermonuclear fusion of helium nuclei in the triple-alpha process.[8]

Structure

In the 1960s, it was predicted that as a white dwarf cools, its material should crystallize, starting at the center.[9] When a star pulsates, observing its pulsations gives information about its structure. BPM 37093 was first observed to be a pulsating variable in 1992,[1] and in 1995 it was pointed out that this yielded a potential test of the crystallization theory.[10] In 2004, Antonio Kanaan and a team of researchers of the Whole Earth Telescope estimated, on the basis of these asteroseismological observations, that approximately 90% of the mass of BPM 37093 had crystallized.[5][9][11][12] Other work gives a crystallized mass fraction of between 32% and 82%.[7] Any of these estimates would result in a total crystalline mass in excess of 5×1029 kilograms. As the white dwarf has a radius of 4,000 kilometres (2,500 mi), this means that the core of BPM 37093, nicknamed Lucy, is likely one of the largest diamonds in the local region of the universe.[13][14]

Body-centered cubic lattice

Crystallization of the material of a white dwarf of this type is thought to result in a

Fermi sea of electrons.[15]

Nickname and press coverage

In popular culture

  • In John C. Wright's science fiction novel Count to a Trillion and its sequels, V886 Centauri is called the "Diamond Star", after the crystalline carbon core. In the story of the novel, it becomes the destination of the first human interstellar journey after it is discovered that the star, a ten-decillion-carat diamond of degenerate matter, is not matter at all, but antimatter. An alien artifact called "The Monument" is found orbiting it, which increases human knowledge of mathematics immensely.
  • In Jim Jarmusch's 2013 film Only Lovers Left Alive, Tilda Swinton's character Eve tells Tom Hiddleston's character Adam about BPM 37093, describing it as a "diamond up there the size of a planet" that "emits the music of a gigantic gong".
  • The webcomic Abstruse Goose provides a brief fictionalized account of the discovery of the carbon core's crystalization (with the addition of some raccoons to the story), "Cosmic Backyard".[16]

See also

References

  1. ^
    hdl:10183/108720. Archived
    from the original on 4 December 2021. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
  2. ^
    S2CID 244398875
    . Gaia DR3 record for this source at VizieR.
  3. ^ a b c "WG 22". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved April 1, 2008.
  4. ^
    CDS ID III/210 Archived 2013-10-22 at the Wayback Machine
    .
  5. ^
    doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20041125
    .
  6. Bibcode:2001ApJS..133..413B
  7. ^
    Bibcode:2005ApJ...622..572B
  8. ^ Late stages of evolution for low-mass stars Archived 2020-06-11 at the Wayback Machine, Michael Richmond, lecture notes, Physics 230, Rochester Institute of Technology, accessed online May 3, 2007.
  9. ^
    Bibcode:2004ApJ...605L.133M
  10. Bibcode:1995BaltA...4..129W
  11. ^ a b "BBC News: Diamond star thrills astronomers". 16 February 2004. Archived from the original on 2007-02-05. Retrieved 2007-02-26.
  12. ^ Press release Archived 2013-12-25 at the Wayback Machine, 2004, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
  13. ^ "This Valentine's Day, Give The Woman Who Has Everything The Galaxy's Largest Diamond". Center for Astrophysics. Archived from the original on July 6, 2008. Retrieved May 5, 2009.
  14. ^ "Lucy's in the Sky with Diamonds: Meet the Most Expensive Star Ever Found". Futurism. 12 June 2014. Archived from the original on 11 December 2019. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
  15. Bibcode:1988A&A...199L..15B
  16. ^ "Cosmic Backyard". Abstruse Goose. Archived from the original on 2020-07-02. Retrieved 2020-06-28.

External links

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