Related papers: Binary Evolution Leads to Two Populations of White…
The ultimate fates of binary companions to stars (including whether the companion survives and the final orbit of the binary) are of interest in light of an increasing number of recently discovered, low-mass companions to white dwarfs…
During post-main-sequence evolution, radial expansion of the primary star, accompanied by intense winds, can significantly alter the binary orbit via tidal dissipation and mass loss. The fate of a given binary system is determined by the…
The presence of a close, low-mass companion is thought to play a substantial and perhaps necessary role in shaping post-Asymptotic Giant Branch and Planetary Nebula outflows. During post-main-sequence evolution, radial expansion of the…
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…
Common envelopes form in dynamical time scale mass exchange, when the envelope of a donor star engulfs a much denser companion, and the core of the donor plus the dense companion star spiral inward through this dissipative envelope. As…
Nearly every star known to host planets will become a white dwarf, and nearly 100 planet-hosts are now known to be accompanied by binary stellar companions. Here, we determine how a binary companion triggers instability in otherwise…
We investigate the evolution of interacting binaries where the donor star is a low-mass giant more massive than its companion. It is usual to assume that such systems undergo common-envelope (CE) evolution, where the orbital energy is used…
The presence of a nearby companion alters the evolution of massive stars in binary systems, leading to phenomena such as stellar mergers, X-ray binaries and gamma-ray bursts. Unambiguous constraints on the fraction of massive stars affected…
Nearby companions alter the evolution of massive stars in binary systems. Using a sample of Galactic massive stars in nearby young clusters, we simultaneously measure all intrinsic binary characteristics relevant to quantify the frequency…
We calculate the orbital evolution of binary systems where the primary star is an evolved red giant branch (RGB) star, while the secondary star is a low-mass main sequence (MS) star or a brown dwarf. The evolution starts with a tidal…
Some binary stars experience common envelope evolution, which is accompanied by drastic loss of angular momentum, mass, and orbital energy and which leaves behind close binaries often involving at least one white dwarf, neutron star, or…
The white dwarf mass distribution has been studied primarily at two extremes: objects that presumably evolved as single stars and members of close binaries that likely underwent substantial interaction. This work considers the intermediate…
White dwarfs are the most common endpoints of stellar evolution. They are often found in close binary systems in which the white dwarf is accreting matter from a companion star, either via an accretion disc or channelled along the white…
Binary stars are pairs of stars that are gravitationally bound, providing in some cases accurate measurements of their masses and radii. As such, they serve as excellent testbeds for the theory of stellar structure and evolution. Moreover,…
Increasing observations of white dwarf atmospheric pollution and disrupting planetesimals is driving increased studies into the fate of exo-asteroids around post-main-sequence stars. Planetesimal populations in the Solar System which are…
Close white dwarf binaries make up a wide variety of objects such as double white dwarf binaries, which are possible SN Ia progenitors, cataclysmic variables, super soft sources, or AM CVn stars. The evolution and formation of close white…
Virtually all binaries consisting of a white dwarf with a non-degenerate companion can be classified as either close post-interaction systems (with orbital periods of a few days or less), or wide systems (with periods longer than decades),…
I suggest a spiral-in process by which a stellar companion graze the envelope of a giant star while both the orbital separation and the giant radius shrink simultaneously, and a close binary system is formed. The binary system might be…
Neutron stars and stellar-mass black holes are the remnants of massive stars, which ended their lives in supernova explosions. These exotic objects can only be studied in relatively rare cases. If they are interacting with close companions…
Binary systems are very common among field stars. While this relatively small number of planets in binaries is probably partly due to strong observational biases, there is, however, statistical evidence that planets are indeed less frequent…