Related papers: Remnants of Binary White Dwarf Mergers
We study the properties of remnants formed in prompt-collapse binary neutron star mergers. We consider non-spinning binaries over a range of total masses and mass ratios across a set of 22 equations of state, totaling 107 numerical…
It is not known how single white dwarfs with masses less than 0.5Msolar -- low-mass white dwarfs -- are formed. One way in which such a white dwarf might be formed is after the merger of a helium-core white dwarf with a main-sequence star…
A population of anomalous ultra-massive white dwarfs discovered with Gaia, often referred to as the Q branch, show high (multi-Gyr) cooling delays produced by exotic physical mechanisms. They are believed to be the products of stellar…
The progenitor systems and explosion mechanism of Type Ia supernovae are still unknown. Currently favoured progenitors include double-degenerate systems consisting of two carbon-oxygen white dwarfs with thin helium shells. In the…
We study the conditions required to produce self-sustained detonations in turbulent, carbon-oxygen degenerate plasma at low densities. We perform a series of three-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations of turbulence driven with various…
Using 2D and 3D simulation, we study the "robustness" of the double detonation scenario for Type Ia supernovae, in which a detonation in the helium shell of a carbon-oxygen white dwarf induces a secondary detonation in the underlying core.…
We study the angular momentum evolution of binaries containing two white dwarfs which merge and become cool helium-rich supergiants. Our object is to compare predicted rotation velocities with observations of highly evolved stars believed…
We systematically explore the evolution of the merger of two carbon-oxygen (CO) white dwarfs. The dynamical evolution of a 0.9 Msun + 0.6 Msun CO white dwarf merger is followed by a three-dimensional SPH simulation. We use an elaborate…
It has been estimated that a significant proportion of binary neutron star merger events produce long-lived massive remnants supported by differential rotation and subject to rotational instabilities. To examine formation and oscillation of…
White dwarfs are dense, cooling stellar embers consisting mostly of carbon and oxygen, or oxygen and neon (with a few percent carbon) at higher initial stellar masses. These stellar cores are enveloped by a shell of helium which in turn is…
Compact binary white dwarfs (WDs) undergoing orbital decay due to gravitational radiation can experience significant tidal heating prior to merger. In these WDs, the dominant tidal effect involves the excitation of outgoing gravity waves in…
White dwarf (WD) binary mergers are possible progenitors to a number of unusual stars and transient phenomena, including type Ia supernovae. To date, simulations of mergers have not included magnetic fields, even though they are believed to…
We describe the evolution of double degenerate binary systems, consisting of components obeying the zero temperature mass radius relationship for white dwarf stars, from the onset of mass transfer to one of several possible outcomes…
We present the results of a set of high-resolution simulations of the merging process of two white dwarfs. In order to do so, we use an up-to-date Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics code which incorporates very detailed input physics and an…
The formation histories of lithium-rich and carbon-rich red giants are not yet understood. It has been proposed that the merger of a helium-core white dwarf with a red giant branch star might provide a solution. We have computed an extended…
The merger of two white dwarfs (WDs) has for many years not been considered as the favoured model for the progenitor system of type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia). But recent years have seen a change of opinion as a number of studies, both…
The origins of type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) are still debated. Some of the leading scenarios involve a double detonation in double white dwarf (WD) systems. In these scenarios, helium shell detonation occurs on top of a carbon-oxygen (CO)…
(Abridged abstract) We explore the formation of ultra-massive (M_{\rm WD} \gtrsim 1.05 M_\sun$), carbon-oxygen core white dwarfs resulting from single stellar evolution. We also study their evolutionary and pulsational properties and…
White dwarfs are stellar remnants devoid of a nuclear energy source, gradually cooling over billions of years and eventually freezing into a solid state from the inside out. Recently, it was discovered that a population of freezing white…
Recent observations indicate that the progenitors of globular clusters (GCs) at high redshifts had high average stellar surface densities above $10^5\, \mathrm{M}_\odot\, \mathrm{pc}^{-2}$. The internal structure and kinematics of the…