1998/08/19 by Brian Chaboyer · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #Space Science and Extraterrestrial Life #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1016/s0370-1573(98)00054-4
published as Phys.Rept. 307 (1998) 23-30 · invited review to appear in Physics Reports
arxiv created 1998/08/19 · openalex publication_date 1998/12/01 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2017/09/15 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
A minimum age of the universe can be estimated directly by determining the age of the oldest objects in the our Galaxy. These objects are the metal-poor stars in the halo of the Milky Way. Recent work on nucleochronology finds that the oldest stars are 15.2+/-3.7 Gyr old. White dwarf cooling curves have found a minimum age for the oldest stars of 8 Gyr. Currently, the best estimate for the age of the oldest stars is based upon the absolute magnitude of the main sequence turn-off in globular clusters. The oldest globular clusters are 11.5+/-1.3 Gyr old, implying a minimum age of the universe of tuniverse > 9.5 Gyr (95% confidence level).