Utilizing wd_builder to Decipher White Dwarf Stars : A Glimpse into Modular Stellar Astrophysics

Abstract

When we look up to the stars, we only see a brief snapshot of the universe’s life. The stars change over the course of many millions of years, making it difficult to observe their behaviors. Consequently, astrophysicists who wish to study the lives of stars turn to computers to model them. This project utilizes Modules for Experimentation in Stellar Astrophysics (MESA), specifically the wd_builder module, to model the behaviors of white dwarf stars. These are the leftovers of average-sized stars, like our Sun, that have reached the ends of their lives and collapsed into hot, dense stellar remnants. We have developed a suite that allows computational astrophysicists of all backgrounds to easily and efficiently build models of white dwarf stars that they can utilize for their own research purposes. By streamlining the process of modeling a white dwarf computationally, and by employing the power of modern physics, we can trim the process of white dwarf building from hours down to minutes. For the future of this project, this suite could push the boundaries of stellar astrophysics physics, allowing us to study kinds of white dwarfs that haven’t been observed in space, or to dissect more puzzling real-world white dwarfs with unexplained behaviors and characteristics.