What is the cold, dark ultimate end state for a white dwarf lacking internal fusion?
Answer
A black dwarf
A white dwarf, even when newly formed, is extremely hot, glowing solely from residual thermal energy retained from its stellar life; it possesses no internal furnace capable of sustained nuclear reactions. Over immensely long timescales, trillions of years, this residual heat will radiate away into space. As the object cools down entirely without any mechanism to generate new heat or counteract gravity through fusion, it will eventually cease radiating light and heat, becoming a cold, dark, inert stellar remnant known as a black dwarf.
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