Related papers: White Dwarf Bounds on CHAMPs
Suggestive evidence has accumulated that intermediate mass black holes (IMBH) exist in some globular clusters. As stars diffuse in the cluster, some will inevitable wander sufficiently close to the hole that they suffer tidal disruption. An…
We explain the physics of compressional heating of the deep interior of an accreting white dwarf (WD) at accretion rates low enough so that the accumulated hydrogen burns unstably and initiates a classical nova (CN). In this limit, the WD…
The tidal disruption of stars by (super-)massive black holes in galactic nuclei has been discussed in theoretical terms for about 30 years but only in the past decade have we been able to detect such events in substantial numbers. Thus, we…
When a rapidly-rotating, highly magnetized white dwarf (WD) approaches the Chandrashekhar limit through mass accretion, it can undergo an accretion-induced collapse (AIC) to form a proto-neutron star or protomagnetar. The protomagnetar can…
Eccentric white dwarf-massive black hole binaries can potentially source some extreme X-ray transients, including the recently observed quasi-periodic X-ray eruptions and tidal disruption events at the galactic nuclei. Meanwhile, they are…
Although 25%-50% of white dwarfs (WDs) display evidence for remnant planetary systems, their orbital architectures and overall sizes remain unknown. Vibrant close-in (~1 Solar radius) circumstellar activity is detected at WDs spanning many…
Over the past several years, there has been enormous interest in massive neutron stars and white dwarfs due to either their direct or indirect evidence. The recent detection of gravitational wave event GW190814 has confirmed the existence…
In the inner region of the disc of an active galactic nucleus (AGN), the collision of two white dwarfs (WDs) through Jacobi capture might be inevitable, leading to a Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) explosion. This transient event, influenced by…
We construct a menu of objects that can give rise to bright flares when disrupted by massive black holes (BHs), ranging from planets to evolved stars. Through their tidal disruption, main sequence and evolved stars can effectively probe the…
The progenitor channel responsible for the majority of Type Ia supernovae is still uncertain. One emergent scenario involves the detonation of a He-rich layer surrounding a C/O white dwarf, which sends a shock wave into the core. The…
(Abridged.) The accretion-induced collapse (AIC) of a white dwarf (WD) may lead to the formation of a protoneutron star and a collapse-driven supernova explosion. This process represents a path alternative to thermonuclear disruption of…
Hypervelocity white dwarfs (HVWDs) are stellar remnants moving at speeds exceeding the Milky Way's escape velocity. The origins of the fastest HVWDs are enigmatic, with proposed formation scenarios facing challenges explaining both their…
A primordial black hole (PBH) with mass $10^{-15}\leq M_{\rm PBH}/M_{\odot}\leq 10^{-10}$ is currently beyond the sensitivity of both microlensing and black hole (BH) evaporation methods. A novel scenario has been proposed: When a PBH with…
Models for supernovae (SNe) arising from thermonuclear explosions of white dwarfs (WDs) have been extensively studied over the last few decades, mostly focusing on the single degenerate (accretion of material of a WD) and double degenerate…
In the vast expanse of our galaxy, white dwarfs (WDs) are natural sentinels, capturing the enigmatic dark matter (DM) particles that incessantly traverse their interiors. These celestial bodies provide a unique vantage point for probing…
Type Ia supernovae are generally thought to be due to the thermonuclear explosions of carbon-oxygen white dwarfs with masses near the Chandrasekhar mass. This scenario, however, has two long-standing problems. First, the explosions do not…
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…
Ultra-massive hydrogen-rich white dwarfs (WDs) stars are expected to harbor oxygen/neon cores resulting from semi-degenerate carbon burning when the progenitor star evolves through the super asymptotic giant branch (SAGB) phase. These stars…
I review various phenomena associated with mass-accreting white dwarfs (WDs) in the view of supersoft X-ray sources. When the mass-accretion rate is low (\dot M_{acc} < a few \times 10^{-7} M_\sun yr^{-1}), hydrogen nuclear burning is…
Giant star-formation clumps in dwarf irregular galaxies can have masses exceeding a few percent of the galaxy mass enclosed inside their orbital radii. They can produce sufficient torques on dark matter halo particles, halo stars, and the…