Related papers: High resolution simulations of the head-on collisi…
We present a comprehensive study of white dwarf collisions as an avenue for creating type Ia supernovae. Using a smooth particle hydrodynamics code with a 13-isotope, {\alpha}-chain nuclear network, we examine the resulting 56Ni yield as a…
We present the results of a systematic numerical study of an alternative progenitor scenario to produce type Ia supernova explosions, which is not restricted to the ignition of a CO white dwarf near the Chandrasekhar mass. In this scenario,…
Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia), thermonuclear explosions of carbon-oxygen white dwarfs (CO-WDs), are currently the best cosmological "standard candles", but the triggering mechanism of the explosion is unknown. It was recently shown that the…
Mergers of two carbon-oxygen white dwarfs have long been suspected to be progenitors of Type Ia Supernovae. Here we present our modifications to the cosmological smoothed particle hydrodynamics code Gadget to apply it to stellar physics…
One of the most important questions regarding the progenitor systems of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) is whether mergers of two white dwarfs can lead to explosions that reproduce observations of normal events. Here we present a fully…
The origin of subluminous Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) has long eluded any explanation, as all Chandrasekhar-mass models have severe problems reproducing them. Recently, it has been proposed that violent mergers of two white dwarfs of 0.9…
The physical collisions of two white dwarfs (WDs) (i.e. not slow mergers) have been shown to produce type-Ia-like supernovae (SNe) explosions. Most studies of WD collisions have focused on zero impact-parameter (direct) collisions, which…
Binary white dwarf (WD) coalescences driven by gravitational waves or collisions in triple systems are potential progenitors of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia). We combine the distribution of 56Ni inferred from observations of SNe Ia with the…
In a dense star cluster core, a tidal disruption event (TDE) of a white dwarf (WD) can occur if the WD passes within the tidal radius of an intermediate-mass black hole (IMBH). Very close encounters cause extreme tidal compression in the…
The collision of two white dwarfs is a quite frequent event in dense stellar systems, like globular clusters and galactic nuclei. In this paper we present the results of a set of simulations of the close encounters and collisions of two…
A leading model for Type Ia supernovae involves the double-detonation of a sub-Chandrasekhar mass white dwarf. Double-detonations arise when a surface helium shell detonation generates shockwaves that trigger a core detonation; this…
We report detailed 3D simulations of 1.1 $\mathrm{M_{\odot}}$ Oxygen-Neon (ONe) white dwarfs (WDs) merging with a 0.35 $\mathrm{M_{\odot}}$ helium WD, conducted with the moving-mesh hydrodynamic code AREPO. The simulations utilise…
Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) are common luminous astrophysical transients. SNe Ia serve as distance indicators for measuring the expansion rate of the universe and play important roles in galactic nucleosynthesis. However, ambiguities…
Merging white dwarfs are a possible progenitor of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia). While it is not entirely clear if and when an explosion is triggered in such systems, numerical models suggest that a detonation might be initiated before the…
Thermonuclear supernovae are the result of the violent unbinding of a white dwarf, but the precise nature of the explosion mechanism(s) is a matter of active debate. To this end, several specific scenarios have been proposed to explain the…
Collisions of white dwarfs (WDs) have recently been invoked as a possible mechanism for type Ia supernovae (SNIa). A pivotal feature for the viability of WD collisions as SNIa progenitors is that a significant fraction of the mass is highly…
We investigate the brightness distribution expected for thermonuclear explosions that might result from the ignition of a detonation during the violent merger of white dwarf (WD) binaries. Determining their brightness distribution is…
Double-degenerate (DD) mergers of carbon-oxygen white dwarfs have recently emerged as a leading candidate for normal Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia). However, many outstanding questions surround DD mergers, including the characteristics of…
Explosions of sub-Chandrasekhar-mass white dwarfs are one alternative to the standard Chandrasekhar-mass model of Type Ia supernovae. They are interesting since binary systems with sub-Chandrasekhar-mass primary white dwarfs should be…
The observed sub-class of "superluminous" Type Ia supernovae lacks a convincing theoretical explanation. If the emission of such objects were powered exclusively by radioactive decay of 56Ni formed in the explosion, a progenitor mass close…