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Projecte llegit

Títol: Modelling the energy balance of Dyson Spheres at White Dwarfs using current Terrestrial Technology

Estudiants que han llegit aquest projecte:

Director/a: TORRES GIL, SANTIAGO

Departament: FIS

Títol: Modelling the energy balance of Dyson Spheres at White Dwarfs using current Terrestrial Technology

Data inici oferta: 20-12-2023     Data finalització oferta: 20-01-2024


Estudis d'assignació del projecte:
    MU AEROSPACE S&T 21
Tipus: Individual
 
Lloc de realització: EETAC
 
Segon director/a (UPC): RADDI, ROBERTO
 
Paraules clau:
Space Solar Cell Technology, Energy Balance, Advanced Technological Structures, Dyson Spheres, white dwarfs
 
Descripció del contingut i pla d'activitats:
A Dyson sphere is a hypothetical structure built by a supposed advanced civilization capable of capturing part or all the irradiated energy from a star. In the subsequent process of converting this energy into electrical, chemical, or any other form of energy, the laws of thermodynamics imply that part of this energy is dissipated in the form of heat emitted as infrared radiation. Hence, it is expected that the spectrum of the star will show an infrared excess as well as an energy deficit at optical wavelengths.

Current space missions such as ESA's Gaia and NASA's WISE, among others, have provided a wealth of information about a peculiar type of stars known as white dwarfs. With half the mass of the Sun and a radius similar to that of Earth, these stars are considered natural candidates to host such structures. In fact, there are around a few hundred identified white dwarfs that display an infrared excess in their spectra. The prevailing hypotheses are the presence of cooler sub-stellar mass companions or dust disks surrounding the white dwarf. However, there are some objects that are not fully explained by either of these models.

In this project we aim to analyze the effects of Dyson rings or spheres around a white dwarf with the same temperature as the Sun. To that end, we start by using current state-of-the-art in solar cell technology. That is, the performance for photovoltaic solar cells, material strength, etc., will be that of available current space missions. We aim to obtain an energy balance and determine how the spectrum of the white dwarf might be affected based on the size of the constructed structure.
 
Overview (resum en anglès):
A Dyson sphere is a hypothetical structure built by a supposed advanced civilization capable of capturing part or all the irradiated energy from a star. In the subsequent process of converting this energy into electrical, chemical, or any other form of energy, the laws of thermodynamics imply that part of this energy is dissipated in the form of heat emitted as infrared radiation. Hence, it is expected that the spectrum of the star will show an infrared
excess as well as an energy deficit at optical wavelengths.

Current space missions such as ESA's Gaia and NASA's WISE, among others, have provided a wealth of information about a peculiar type of stars known as white dwarfs. With half the mass of the Sun and a radius similar to that of Earth, these stars are considered natural candidates to host such structures. In fact, there are around a few hundred identified white dwarfs that display an infrared excess in their spectra. The prevailing hypotheses are the presence of cooler sub-stellar mass companions or dust disks surrounding the white dwarf. However, there are some objects that are not fully explained by either of these models.

In this project we aim to analyze the effects of Dyson rings or spheres around a white dwarf with the same temperature as the Sun. To that end, we start by using current state-of-the-art in solar cell technology. That is, the performance for photovoltaic solar cells, material strength, etc., will be that of available current space missions. We aim to obtain an energy balance and determine how the spectrum of the white dwarf might be affected based on the size of the constructed structure.

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