Abstract: Using the Hubble Space Telescope our group has built an unprecedented sample of nearly seven thousand white dwarfs in the globular cluster 47 Tucanae.I will describe how we use these white dwarfs to measure dynamical relaxation in the core of the cluster, constrain the epoch of mass loss in the post-main sequence evolution of solar-like stars, probe the cross-section of neutrinos in the keV regime, constrain the properties of the axion and maybe even see stars snowing.

Bio: Jeremy Heyl is a professor of physics and astronomy at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.  He studies white dwarfs, black holes, neutron stars and stellar populations from a theoretical and observational point of view.  He has made key contributions to our understanding of galaxy mergers, galaxy evolution, magnetars, x-ray bursts and astrophysical consequences of QED.