To: longshadow
It's evident that this method is better suited for setting a lower limit on the age, given all the standard physics assumptions, than an upper limit. I'm still skeptical of the "found the faintest one" concept. I'm not even so sure that clusters weren't produced until a fairly long time after the "big bang", or that light isn't reddening due to the expansion of space beyond the effect of recession. Obviously, if the rate of expansion and recession were the same, it wouldn't have been much of a bang.
To: apochromat
It's evident that this method is better suited for setting a lower limit on the age, given all the standard physics assumptions, than an upper limit. Absolutely. That's exactly what it represents: a lower bound on the age of the Universe.
As to whether they found the faintest white Dwarf, they will get answer to that when they use the new Hubble camera, which is vastly more sensitive that the one used for this study.
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