EFFECTS OF A LARGE MAGNETIC FIELD ON ENERGY TRANSFER IN WHITE DWARF STARS.
Abstract
The thesis is concerned with possible effects of a large magnetic field (in the range of approximately 100,000 to approximately 10 to the 13th power gauss) on the transfer of thermal energy out of a white dwarf star. It is shown that a field at the surface of a white dwarf of approximately 200,000 gauss is sufficient to produce observable Zeeman splitting of spectral lines, but that when the surface field exceeds about 10 to the 7th power gauss, the sigma components of the Zeeman triplet are no longer visible and the line is simply weakened by the field. The possibility that a large surface field would result in significantly increased opacity through absorbtion by the inverse of the cyclotron radiation process is investigated, and it is shown that this 'cyclotron opacity' would be unobservable except under special conditions. In a white dwarf, heat flow in the interior is carried almost entirely by degenerate electron conduction. It is shown that fields of the order of 10 to the 9th power or 10 to the 10th power gauss result in substantial magneto-resistivity normal to the direction of the field, and some consequences of this effect for the surface radiation of a white dwarf are discussed. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1965
- Accession Number
- AD0643427
Entities
People
- John Darlington Landstreet
Organizations
- Columbia University