Given the resources below, how would you blow up a star (or, if that fails, a large gas giant with ring system)?

Question

I'm writing a science-fiction novel and I don't actually have the grasp on mathematics to see if this could happen. The society in my book needs to blow up Fomalhaut b at least but preferably Fomalhaut in its entirety (this is a real exoplanet and a real star, you can wikipedia them for stats). They're extremely industrialized and post-scarcity, so assume that they have ample supplies of metal (but probably not enough to build the Death Star). The only superscience thing they have are gates which link two places in space together. They can scale up as far as one needs, but the resulting gate apparatus has to get correspondingly bigger. That said, they break Conservation of Energy and allow for the creation of energy (and, by consequence, the reduction of entropy in a closed system). So, basically, they have as much energy as they could want.

From what I understand, a Jupiter-sized exoplanet is already basically undestroyable using the techniques in the setting, let alone a star. The only thing I can think of that would break a planet that big is crashing it into a sun, and the only thing I can think of that can destroy a star is crashing it into a black hole (or waiting until it puts itself out) But, again, I don't have a strong grip on the mathematics or accompanying theory, and if anyone would know how to blow up the sun it's probably physicists.

Mark G · Accepted Answer

Can't be done.You would need to massively increase the mass.

Enough Trolls · Answer

There is no theory under current science for any of those events. We have no concept of how it could be done. So if you want a Space Opera with such titanic events you have to invent a consistent new theory (not rooted in reality) that allows the protagonists to do this.
In my current game the players happily accept future tech and magic for the purposes of the game, in your story you must present a CONSISTENT technology.

Ian M Banks uses "fields" for the trickery of the Minds - there is never an explanation of what these are but the reader happily accepts that advanced beings have advanced technology.

The Xeelee series had star destroyers, heck it even used time travel and manipulation of galactic core Black Holes - still a popular series.

? · Answer

You have found one ounce of --- Dark  Matter -- And it is lost you can not find it and pure panic sets in because if Dark Matter comes in contact with normal matter Dark Matter vaporizes all that is not Dark Matter -- and only a Black Hole can save our galaxy -- and how can a Black Hole be moved No one knows Yet -- you got 1000  years to find out how -- That is how a book series gets started --

poornakumar b · Answer

You should do that with our Sun instead & one of the many planets it has - as a test case.

Bill · Answer

One of two things 1) rogue planet  or  2) a rogue black whole.....................

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Given the resources below, how would you blow up a star (or, if that fails, a large gas giant with ring system)?

5 Answers