Related papers: Recombination energy in double white dwarf formati…

Common-envelope evolution (CEE) is among the most uncertain phases in binary evolution. To empirically constrain CEE, we construct a uniformly selected sample of eclipsing post--common-envelope binaries (PCEBs). Starting from an unresolved…

Some red giant envelopes present spiral structures (seen either in dust scattered stellar continuum or in molecular line emission), the most striking example probably being AFGL 3068. This object has been modeled (both analytically and…

The role and implication of binding energy through the accretion-induced collapse (AIC) of accreting white dwarfs (WDs) for the production of millisecond pulsars (MSPs) are investigated. I examine the binding energy model due to the…

Double white dwarf binaries are an important remnant of binary evolution as they are possible type Ia supernova progenitors and strong sources of gravitational waves in the low-frequency regime. The double-lined double white dwarf (DBL)…

Planets orbiting post-common envelope binaries provide fundamental information on planet formation and evolution. We searched for such planets in NN Ser ab, an eclipsing short-period binary that shows long-term eclipse time variations.…

Eclipsing close double white dwarf (WD) systems provide a unique opportunity to directly constrain hydrogen-envelope retention and test common-envelope (CE) evolution in low-mass stars, since they allow precise determinations of stellar…

We report photometric observations of the eclipsing close binary CSS21055 (SDSS J141126+200911) that strongly suggest that the companion to the carbon-oxygen white dwarf is a brown dwarf with a mass between 0.030 and 0.074 Msun. The…

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 have discovered that the detached double degenerate binary WD 0957-666 has an orbital period of 1.46 hours, rather than the 1.15 day orbital period reported earlier. This is the shortest period example of such a system yet discovered. We…

The common envelope event is one of the most important and uncertain evolutionary stages that lead to formation of compact binaries. While the problem is almost 30 years old, its theoretical foundation did not progress much from the first…

We have discovered a detached pair of white dwarfs (WDs) with a 12.75 min orbital period and a 1,315 km/s radial velocity amplitude. We measure the full orbital parameters of the system using its light curve, which shows ellipsoidal…

The close binary system NN Serpentis must have gone through a common envelope phase before the formation of its white dwarf. During this phase, a substantial amount of mass was lost from the envelope. The recently detected orbits of…

(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 White Dwarf Binary Pathways Survey aims at increasing the number of known detached A, F, G and K main sequence stars in close orbits with white dwarf companions (WD+AFGK binaries) to refine our understanding about compact binary…

The orbital decay of binary systems is a critical process for understanding the evolution of massive binary black holes (MBBHs) and binary star formation. Performing high-resolution three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations,…

The detection of a 0.2 Msun extremely low-mass white dwarf (EW) in a wide orbit (Porb about 450 days) with a 1.1 Msun main-sequence (MS) companion, KIC 8145411, challenges our current understanding of how EWs form. The traditional channel…

We have found that the white dwarf PG 1101+364 is a double-lined white dwarf/white dwarf binary with an orbital period of 3.47 hours. PG 1101+364 is the shortest period detached double-degenerate yet found and gravitational radiation will…

It has long been accepted that a possible mechanism for explaining the existence of magnetic white dwarfs is the merger of a binary white dwarf system, as there are viable mechanisms for producing sustainable magnetism within the merger…

Hot subdwarf stars of spectral type B (sdBs) are evolved, core helium-burning objects. The formation of those objects is puzzling, because the progenitor star has to lose almost its entire hydrogen envelope in the red-giant phase. Binary…

We analyze a 3D hydrodynamic simulation of common envelope evolution to understand how energy is transferred between various forms and whether theory and simulation are mutually consistent given the setup. Virtually all of the envelope…