BPM 37093 (V886 Centauri) is a

variable Variable may refer to: * Variable (computer science), a symbolic name associated with a value and whose associated value may be changed * Variable (mathematics), a symbol that represents a quantity in a mathematical expression, as used in many ...

white dwarf A white dwarf is a stellar core remnant composed mostly of electron-degenerate matter. A white dwarf is very dense: its mass is comparable to the Sun's, while its volume is comparable to the Earth's. A white dwarf's faint luminosity comes fro ...

star A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by its gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked ...

of the DAV, or ZZ Ceti, type, with a

hydrogen Hydrogen is the chemical element with the symbol H and atomic number 1. Hydrogen is the lightest element. At standard conditions hydrogen is a gas of diatomic molecules having the formula . It is colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, an ...

atmosphere and an unusually high mass of approximately 1.1 times the

Sun The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...

's. It is about from Earth in the constellation

Centaurus Centaurus is a bright constellation in the southern sky. One of the 88 modern constellations by area, largest constellations, Centaurus was included among the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd-century astronomer Ptolemy, and it remains one o ...

and vibrates; these pulsations cause its

luminosity Luminosity is an absolute measure of radiated electromagnetic power (light), the radiant power emitted by a light-emitting object over time. In astronomy, luminosity is the total amount of electromagnetic energy emitted per unit of time by a st ...

vary Vary ( uk, Вари, hu, Vári or Mezővári) is a village in Zakarpattia Oblast (province) of western Ukraine. It is located around southeast of Berehove at the confluence of the rivers Tisza and Borzsova, not far from the Ukrainian- Hungar ...

. Like other white dwarfs, BPM 37093 is thought to be composed primarily of carbon and oxygen, which are created by

thermonuclear Thermonuclear fusion is the process of atomic nuclei combining or “fusing” using high temperatures to drive them close enough together for this to become possible. There are two forms of thermonuclear fusion: ''uncontrolled'', in which the re ...

fusion of

helium Helium (from el, ἥλιος, helios, lit=sun) is a chemical element with the symbol He and atomic number 2. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, inert, monatomic gas and the first in the noble gas group in the periodic table. ...

nuclei in the

triple-alpha process The triple-alpha process is a set of nuclear fusion reactions by which three helium-4 nuclei (alpha particles) are transformed into carbon. Triple-alpha process in stars Helium accumulates in the cores of stars as a result of the proton–pro ...

.Late stages of evolution for low-mass stars
, Michael Richmond, lecture notes, Physics 230,

Rochester Institute of Technology Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) is a private university, private research university in the town of Henrietta, New York, Henrietta in the Rochester, New York, metropolitan area. The university offers undergraduate and graduate degree ...

, accessed online May 3, 2007.

Structure

In the 1960s, it was predicted that as a white dwarf cools, its material should

crystallize Crystallization is the process by which solid forms, where the atoms or molecules are highly organized into a structure known as a crystal. Some ways by which crystals form are precipitating from a solution, freezing, or more rarely deposi ...

, starting at the center.Testing White Dwarf Crystallization Theory with Asteroseismology of the Massive Pulsating DA Star BPM 37093, T. S. Metcalfe, M. H. Montgomery, and A. Kanaan, ''Astrophysical Journal'' 605, #2 (April 2004), pp. L133–L136. When a star pulsates, observing its pulsations gives information about its structure. BPM 37093 was first observed to be a pulsating variable in 1992, and in 1995 it was pointed out that this yielded a potential test of the crystallization theory. In 2004, Antonio Kanaan and a team of researchers of the

Whole Earth Telescope The Whole Earth Telescope is an international network of astronomers that collaborate to study variable stars. The distribution of the observatories in longitude allow the selected targets to be continuously monitored despite the rotation of the ...

estimated, on the basis of these asteroseismological observations, that approximately 90% of the mass of BPM 37093 had crystallized.Whole Earth Telescope observations of BPM 37093: a seismological test of crystallization theory in white dwarfs, A. Kanaan, A. Nitta, D. E. Winget, S. O. Kepler, M. H. Montgomery, T. S. Metcalfe, et al., ''Astronomy and Astrophysics'' 432, #1 (March 2005), pp. 219–224. . Other work gives a crystallized mass fraction of between 32% and 82%.P. Brassard, G. Fontaine, Asteroseismology of the Crystallized ZZ Ceti Star BPM 37093: A Different View, ''Astrophysical Journal'' 622, #1, pp. 572–576. Any of these estimates would result in a total crystalline mass in excess of 5 kilograms. As the white dwarf has a radius of , this means that the core of BPM 37093, nicknamed ''Lucy'', is likely one of the largest diamonds in the local region of the universe. Crystallization of the material of a white dwarf of this type is thought to result in a

body-centered cubic In crystallography, the cubic (or isometric) crystal system is a crystal system where the unit cell is in the shape of a cube. This is one of the most common and simplest shapes found in crystals and minerals. There are three main varieties of ...

lattice of carbon and/or oxygen nuclei, which are surrounded by a

Fermi sea A composite fermion is the topological bound state of an electron and an even number of quantized vortices, sometimes visually pictured as the bound state of an electron and, attached, an even number of magnetic flux quanta. Composite fermions we ...

of electrons.Crystallization of carbon-oxygen mixtures in white dwarfs, J. L. Barrat, J. P. Hansen, and R. Mochkovitch, ''Astronomy and Astrophysics'' 199, #1–2 (June 1988), pp. L15–L18.

Nickname and press coverage

*Since a

diamond Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the Chemical stability, chemically stable form of car ...

also consists of crystallized carbon, the star BPM 37093 has been nicknamed ''Lucy'' after

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

' hit ''

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1967 album '' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band''. It was written primarily by John Lennon and credited to the Lennon–McCartney songwriting partners ...

''.

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 James Robert Jarmusch (; born January 22, 1953) is an American film director and screenwriter. He has been a major proponent of independent cinema since the 1980s, directing films including '' Stranger Than Paradise'' (1984), '' Down by Law'' ( ...

's 2013 film ''

Only Lovers Left Alive ''Only Lovers Left Alive'' is a 2013 fantasy comedy-drama film written and directed by Jim Jarmusch, starring Tilda Swinton, Tom Hiddleston, Mia Wasikowska, Anton Yelchin, Jeffrey Wright, Slimane Dazi and John Hurt. An international co-producti ...

'',

Tilda Swinton Katherine Matilda Swinton (born 5 November 1960) is a British actress. Known for her roles in independent films and blockbusters, she has received various accolades, including an Academy Award and a British Academy Film Award, in addition to ...

's character Eve tells

Tom Hiddleston Thomas William Hiddleston (born 9 February 1981) is an English actor. He gained international fame portraying Loki in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), starting with ''Thor'' in 2011 and most recently in the Disney+ series ''Loki'' in 2021 ...

'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."

References

External links

BPM 37093 (Diamond Star)

Largest diamond in galaxy predicts future of solar system
Pravda.ru, December 26, 2007. {{DEFAULTSORT:BPM 37093 Centaurus (constellation) Pulsating white dwarfs Centauri, V886

Structure

Nickname and press coverage

In popular culture

See also

References

External links