Understanding the oscillations of magnetic white dwarfs
Researchers at the Paris-Saclay "Astrophysics, Instrumentation, Modelling" laboratory (AIM – CNRS/CEA/Université Paris Diderot), of the CEA's Military Applications Division (DAM) and from the Universe and Theories Laboratory (LUTH – Observatoire de Paris/CNRS/Université Paris Diderot) at the Paris Observatory, have succeeded in modelling an enigmatic phenomenon of quasi-periodic oscillations present on the surface of strongly magnetic "white dwarf" stars, called "polars". By means of these numerical simulations, they were able to study the scale of the plasma instabilities leading to the rapid variations in the brightness of these stars. It will be possible to confirm these results through the use of high-energy lasers which, in the near future, will be able to reproduce physical conditions in the laboratory that are comparable to those encountered on the surface of white dwarfs. This work is the subject of two publications in the 22 June 2015 edition of the Astronomy & Astrophysics review.