Related papers: Testing common envelopes on double white dwarf bin…
As the number of observed merging binary black holes (BHs) grows, accurate models are required to disentangle multiple formation channels. In models with isolated binaries, important uncertainties remain regarding the stability of mass…
We report the discovery of an extremely close, eclipsing binary system. A white dwarf is orbited by a core He-burning compact hot subdwarf star with a period as short as $\simeq0.04987 {\rm d}$ making this system the most compact hot…
The discovery of two accreting millisecond X-ray pulsars in binaries with 43 minute orbital periods allows for a new probe of the donor's structure. For XTE J1751-305, only a hot white dwarf (WD) can fill the Roche Lobe. A cold He WD is a…
(Summary of paper) High resolution optical spectroscopy of the white dwarf WD0137-349 reveals a weak Halpha line in emission, due to a low mass companion in a close orbit. Using this emission feature, and the narrow NLTE core of the white…
The energy budget in common-envelope events (CEEs) is not well understood, with substantial uncertainty even over to what extent the recombination energy stored in ionised hydrogen and helium might be used to help envelope ejection. We…
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…
Detached white dwarf + main sequence (WD+MS) systems represent the simplest population of post-common envelope binaries (PCEBs). Since the ensemble properties of this population carries important information about the characteristics of the…
The recently discovered system Gaia 0007-1605 consisting of a white dwarf with a close brown dwarf companion and a distant white dwarf tertiary very much resembles the triple system containing the first transiting planet candidate around a…
We present an analysis of the binary and physical parameters of a unique pulsating white dwarf with a main-sequence companion, SDSS J1136+0409, observed for more than 77 d during the first pointing of the extended Kepler mission: K2…
We present the discovery with WISE of a significant infrared excess associated with the eclipsing post-common envelope binary SDSSJ 030308.35+005443.7, the first excess discovered around a non-interacting white dwarf+main sequence M dwarf…
We present the discovery of a new double detonation progenitor system consisting of a hot subdwarf B (sdB) binary with a white dwarf companion with an P=76.34179(2) min orbital period. Spectroscopic observations are consistent with an sdB…
Tidal dissipation due to turbulent viscosity in the convective regions of giant stars plays an important role in shaping the orbits of pre-common envelope systems. Such systems are possible sources of transients and close compact binary…
In this paper, we consider triple systems composed of main-sequence (MS) stars, and their internal evolution due to stellar and binary evolution. Our focus is on triples that produce white dwarfs (WDs), where Roche lobe overflow of an…
Symbiotic binary stars typically consist of a white dwarf (WD) that accretes material from the wind of a companion red giant. Orbital periods for these binaries are on the order of years, and their relatively small optical outbursts tend to…
Results are presented for a Hubble Space Telescope Advanced Camera for Surveys high-resolution imaging campaign of 90 white dwarfs with known or suspected low mass stellar and substellar companions. Of the 72 targets which remain candidate…
The common envelope phase of binary star evolution plays a central role in many evolutionary pathways leading to the formation of compact objects in short period systems. Using three dimensional hydrodynamical computations, we review the…
Low-mass white dwarfs (LMWDs) are believed to be exclusive products of binary evolution, as the Universe is not yet old enough to produce them from single stars. Because of the strong tidal forces operating during the binary interaction…
Context: White dwarfs (WDs) are important and abundant tools to study the structure and evolution of the Galactic environment. However, the multiplicity of WD progenitors is generally neglected. Specifically, a merger in a binary system can…
Tight and compact binary systems, such as double neutron star binaries, are believed to undergo a common envelope evolution phase, resulting in strongly bound orbits. During this phase, the outer layers of the primary star are expelled,…
Approximately 150 low-mass white dwarfs, with masses below 0.4Msun, have been discovered. The majority of these low-mass WDs are observed in binary systems as they cannot be formed through single-star evolution within the Hubble time. In…