White Dwarf Cooling
White dwarfs cool as degenerate electron gas conducts heat outward. The Mestel cooling law: L ∝ T^3.5. Crystallization releases latent heat, creating a "delay". Very old WDs are the oldest objects in the galaxy.
WD mass (M☉)
0.6
Age (Gyr)
1.0
Composition:
C/O