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An independent method for determining the age of the universe
401
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1987
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The number of white dwarfs per volume rises monotonically with decreasing luminosity, reflecting their cooling rates. The authors estimate the universe’s age by adding the time from the Big Bang to the first stars in the Galactic disk, using a value that encompasses all plausible early‑era models. They find the Galactic disk to be 9.3 ± 2.0 Gyr old and the universe 10.3 ± 2.2 Gyr old, based on the abrupt drop in the white‑dwarf luminosity function. Published in The Astrophysical Journal, April 1987, DOI 10.1086/184864.
view Abstract Citations (453) References (34) Co-Reads Similar Papers Volume Content Graphics Metrics Export Citation NASA/ADS An Independent Method for Determining the Age of the Universe Winget, D. E. ; Hansen, C. J. ; Liebert, James ; van Horn, H. M. ; Fontaine, G. ; Nather, R. E. ; Kepler, S. O. ; Lamb, D. Q. Abstract The observed number of white dwarfs in a given volume of space increases monotonically with decreasing luminosity, as expected from cooling rate considerations. However, their number drops abruptly at a luminosity of log (L/L_sun;) ≈ -4.5, due to the finite age of our Galaxy. Comparing this sudden drop in the observed luminosity distribution with the best theoretical evolutionary white dwarf models, the authors derive an age for the Galactic disk of 9.3±2.0 Gyr. To obtain the age of the universe, one must add the time between the big bang and the first appearance of stars in the Galactic disk. The authors choose a value (and stated error) that can include all of the currently reasonable models describing this early era. They estimate the age of the universe to be 10.3±2.2 Gyr. Publication: The Astrophysical Journal Pub Date: April 1987 DOI: 10.1086/184864 Bibcode: 1987ApJ...315L..77W Keywords: Chronology; Cosmology; Disk Galaxies; Stellar Evolution; Universe; White Dwarf Stars; Cool Stars; Luminous Intensity; Perturbation Theory; Solar Neighborhood; Specific Heat; Stellar Mass; Astrophysics; COSMOLOGY; STARS: EVOLUTION; STARS: WHITE DWARFS full text sources ADS | data products SIMBAD (1)