Experiments replicate high densities in 'white dwarf' stars

(University of Rochester) In a project conducted at the National Ignition Facility at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, a research team including University of Rochester engineering professor Gilbert (Rip) Collins, simulated the crushing pressure created as white dwarf stars cease to produce their own fuel, leaving only an extremely dense core. The results, in a Nature paper, add to growing evidence about the evolution of astrophysical bodies--and possible approaches to creating novel mate...