This review talk explores the diverse outcomes of white dwarf mergers, emphasising that not all double degenerate mergers result in supernovae. Possible outcomes include the formation of a more massive WD, partial explosions that leave behind unusual remnants, and merger-induced collapse leading to the formation of rapidly spinning neutron stars or magnetars. Additionally, merging WDs have been proposed as potential progenitors for long gamma-ray bursts and Fast Radio Bursts.
@article{arxiv.2503.00411,
title = {The intriguing outcomes of double degenerate mergers},
author = {Lilia Ferrario},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2503.00411},
year = {2025}
}
Comments
26 pages, 9 figures, Invited talk presented at the conference Frontier Research in Astrophysics IV, held on 9-14 September 2024, in Mondello (Palermo), Italy. This refereed paper has been accepted for publication in Proceedings of Science, PoS (SISSA)