Related papers: Recombination energy in double white dwarf formati…
We examine the exchange of angular momentum between the component spins and the orbit in semi-detached double white dwarf binaries undergoing mass transfer through direct impact of the transfer stream. We approximate the stream as a series…
We conduct three-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations, and show that when a secondary star launches jets while performing spiral-in motion into the envelope of a giant star, the envelope is inflated, some mass is ejected by the jets, and…
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…
Hot subdwarf B stars (sdBs) in close binary systems are assumed to be formed via common envelope ejection. According to theoretical models, the amount of energy and angular momentum deposited in the common envelope scales with the mass of…
Some short-period, detached binary systems have recently been reported to experience very rapid orbital decay, much faster than is expected from the angular-momentum loss caused by gravitational radiation alone. As these systems contain…
The stellar origin of gamma-ray bursts can be explained by the rapid release of energy in a highly collimated, extremely relativistic jet. This in turn appears to require a rapidly spinning highly magnetised stellar core that collapses into…
We propose a new mechanism that produces an orbital period change during a nova outburst. When the ejected material carries away the specific angular momentum of the white dwarf, the orbital period increases. A magnetic field on the surface…
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…
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…
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…
Post-common envelope binary systems evolve when matter is transferred from the primary star at a rate that cannot be accommodated by its secondary companion. A common envelope forms which is subsequently ejected resulting in a system with a…
Binary neutron star mergers are promising sources of gravitational waves for ground-based detectors such as Advanced LIGO. Neutron-rich material ejected by these mergers may also be the main source of r-process elements in the Universe,…
We investigate the energy of the gravitational wave from a binary black hole merger by the coalescence of two Kerr black holes with an orbital angular momentum. The coalescence is constructed to be consistent with particle absorption in the…
When the primary star in a close binary system evolves into a giant and engulfs its companion, its core and the companion temporarily orbit each other inside a common envelope. Drag forces transfer orbital energy and angular momentum to the…
The recent discovery of long-period eccentric binaries hosting a He-WD or a sdB star has been challenging binary-star modelling. Based on accurate determinations of the stellar and orbital parameters for IP Eri, a K0 + He-WD system, we…
We present a detailed photometric and spectroscopic analysis of DD CMa, based on published survey photometry and new spectroscopic data. We find an improved orbital period of $P_\mathrm{o}= 2.0084530 \pm 0.0000006 ~\mathrm{d}$. Our spectra…
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…
We have detected 2 circumbinary planets around the close binary system NN Serpentis using the orbital time delay effect measured via the sharp eclipses of the white dwarf primary. The present pre-cataclysmic binary was formed when the…
The process of energy release in the magnetosphere of a fast rotating, magnetized white dwarf can be explained in terms of the canonical spin-powered pulsar model. Applying this model to the white dwarf companion of the low mass close…
We study, by means of numerical simulations and analysis, the details of the accretion process from a disc onto a binary system. We show that energy is dissipated at the edge of a circumbinary disc and this is associated with the tidal…