Related papers: White Dwarf Bounds on CHAMPs
We present a numerical investigation of the tidal disruption of white dwarfs by moderately massive black holes, with particular reference to the centers of dwarf galaxies and globular clusters. Special attention is given to the fate of…
Dark matter (DM) which sufficiently heats a local region in a white dwarf will trigger runaway fusion, igniting a type Ia supernova (SN). In a companion paper, this instability was used to constrain DM heavier than $10^{16}$ GeV which…
White dwarfs (WDs) are the most promising captors of dark matter (DM) particles in the crests that are expected to build up in the cores of dense stellar clusters. The DM particles could reach sufficient densities in WD cores to liberate…
If accreting white dwarfs (WD) in binary systems are to produce type Ia supernovae (SNIa), they must grow to nearly the Chandrasekhar mass and ignite carbon burning. Proving conclusively that a WD has grown substantially since its birth is…
Multiple star systems interact strongly with Galactic field stars when the outer semi-major axis of a triple or multiple star is > 10 3 AU. Stable triples composed of two white-dwarfs (WD) and a low mass main sequence (MS) star in a wide…
The detonation of an overlying helium layer on a $0.8-1.1\,\mathrm{M}_{\odot}$ carbon-oxygen (CO) white dwarf (WD) can detonate the CO WD and create a thermonuclear supernova (SN). Many authors have recently shown that when the mass of the…
Rapid bursts at optical wavelengths have been reported for several accreting white dwarfs, where the optical luminosity can increase by up to a factor 30 in less than an hour fading on timescales of several hours, and where the energy…
Cataclysmic Variables (CVs) are close binary star systems with one component an accreting white dwarf (WD) and the other a larger cooler star that fills its Roche Lobe. One consequence of the WDs accreting material, is the possibility that…
We present calculations indicating the possibility of a new class of Type I supernovae. In this new paradigm relativistic terms enhance the self gravity of a carbon-oxygen white dwarf as it passes or orbits near a black hole. This…
White dwarfs inspiraling into black holes of mass $\MBH\simgt 10^5M_\odot$ are detectable sources of gravitational waves in the LISA band. In many of these events, the white dwarf begins to lose mass during the main observational phase of…
In binary systems, the helium accretion onto carbon-oxygen (CO) white dwarfs (WDs) plays a vital role in many astrophysical scenarios, especially in supernovae type Ia. Moreover, ignition density for accretion rate $\dot{M} \lesssim 10^{-9}…
The first solids that form as a cooling white dwarf (WD) starts to crystallize are expected to be greatly enriched in actinides. This is because the melting points of WD matter scale as $Z^{5/3}$ and actinides have the largest charge $Z$.…
Understanding the explosion mechanism of type Ia supernova is among the most challenging issues in astrophysics. Accretion of matter on a carbon-oxygen white dwarf from a companion star is one of the most important keys in this regard. Our…
Double detonations of sub-Chandrasekhar-mass white dwarfs (WDs) in unstably mass-transferring double WD binaries have become one of the leading contenders to explain most Type Ia supernovae. However, past theoretical studies of the…
The magnetism and rotation of white dwarf (WD) stars are investigated in relation to a hydromagnetic dynamo operating in the progenitor during shell burning phases. The downward pumping of angular momentum in the convective envelope, in…
Recently, Cheng et al. identified a number of massive white dwarfs (WD) that appear to have an additional heat source providing a luminosity near $\approx 10^{-3}L_\odot$ for multiple Gyr. In this paper we explore heating from electron…
Detonations in helium-rich envelopes surrounding white dwarfs have garnered attention as triggers of faint thermonuclear ".Ia" supernovae and double detonation Type Ia supernovae. However, recent studies have found that the minimum size of…
White dwarfs (WDs) can increase their mass by accretion from companion stars, provided the mass-accretion rate is high enough to avoid nova eruptions. The accretion regimes that allow growth of the WDs are usually calculated assuming…
Can a white dwarf, accreting hydrogen-rich matter from a non-degenerate companion star, ever exceed the Chandrasekhar mass and explode as a type Ia supernova? We explore the range of accretion rates that allow a white dwarf (WD) to…
The discovery of the existence of an upper bound on the mass of a white dwarf star is considered as one of the finest of twentieth century astrophysics. On approaching this limiting mass of $1.4M_\odot$, known as the Chandrasekhar…