Merging White Dwarfs and Thermonuclear Supernovae
Abstract
Thermonuclear supernovae result when interaction with a companion reignites nuclear fusion in a carbon-oxygen white dwarf, causing a thermonuclear runaway, a catastrophic gain in pressure, and the disintegration of the whole white dwarf. It is usually thought that fusion is reignited in near-pycnonuclear conditions when the white dwarf approaches the Chandrasekhar mass. I briefly describe two long-standing problems faced by this scenario, and our suggestion that these supernovae instead result from mergers of carbon-oxygen white dwarfs, including those that produce sub-Chandrasekhar mass remnants. I then turn to possible observational tests, in particular those that test the absence or presence of electron captures during the burning.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.1206.1605,
title = {Merging White Dwarfs and Thermonuclear Supernovae},
author = {Marten H. van Kerkwijk},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1206.1605},
year = {2015}
}
Comments
8 pages, 1 figures, accepted for publication in Phil. Tr. A, proc. of New windows on transients across the Universe, ed. P. O'Brien et al.; v2 includes changes following comments by the 2 referees