Related papers: A helium-burning white dwarf binary as a supersoft…
A handful of white dwarfs with helium-dominated atmospheres contain exceptionally large masses of hydrogen in their convection zones, with the metal-polluted white dwarf GD 16 being one of the earliest recognised examples. We report the…
One of the key observables for determining the progenitor nature of Type Ia supernovae is provided by their immediate circumstellar medium, which according to several models should be shaped by the progenitor binary system. So far, X-ray…
The parameter space for mass loss in Type Ia supernova progenitors is large, with different progenitor scenarios favoring different mass loss regimes. Here we focus on the impact that uniform and isotropic outflows have on the circumstellar…
Helium star - carbon-oxygen white dwarf (CO WD) binaries are potential single-degenerate progenitor systems of thermonuclear supernovae. Revisiting a set of binary evolution calculations using the stellar evolution code $\texttt{MESA}$, we…
Nebular spectral lines provide insight into the properties of the interstellar medium (ISM) and the ionizing radiation within galaxies. The presence of high-energy ionization lines such as \heii indicates the existence of ionizing photons…
Two X-ray sources were recently discovered by Irwin et al. in compact companions to elliptical galaxies to show ultra-luminous flares with fast rise (~ minute) and decay (~ hour), and with a peak luminosity ~10^{40-41} erg/s. Together with…
Ultra-massive white dwarfs are relevant for their role as type Ia Supernova progenitors, the occurrence of physical processes in the asymptotic giant-branch phase, the existence of high-field magnetic white dwarfs, and the occurrence of…
We present spectroscopy and photometry of the LMC supersoft binary system RX~J0513.9-6951. We derive a refined spectroscopic period of P$=0.761\pm0.004$~d, which is consistent with the value obtained from long term photometric monitoring…
Motivated by the recent detection of single and binary He-core white dwarfs in metal-rich clusters, we present a full set of evolutionary calculations and colors appropriate for the study of such white dwarfs. The paper is also aimed at…
One of the main questions concerning Type Ia supernovae is the nature of the binary companion of the exploding white dwarf. A major discriminant between different suggested models is the presence and physical properties of circumstellar…
Type Iax supenovae (SNe Iax) are an important sub-luminous class of SNe Ia. However, their progenitors and explosion mechanism have not been understood yet. It has been suggested that SNe Iax may be produced from weak deflagration…
We analyze the nucleosynthesis yields of various Type Ia supernova explosion simulations including pure detonations in sub- Chandrasekhar mass white dwarfs, double detonations and pure helium detonations of sub-Chandrasekhar mass white…
The recent detection of H-alpha emission in the supernova Type Ia SN 2002ic could be taken to mean that the elusive progenitor systems of Type Ia supernovae have finally been identified. At first glance, the observation appears to support a…
We construct one dimensional steady-state models of accretion disks produced by the tidal disruption of a white dwarf (WD) by a neutron star (NS) or stellar mass black hole (BH). At radii r <~ 1e8.5-1e9 cm the midplane density and…
The origin of the bright and hard X-ray emission flux among the gamma Cas subgroup of B-emission line (Be) stars may be caused by gas accretion onto an orbiting white dwarf (WD) companion. Such Be+WD binaries are the predicted outcome of a…
There have been several recent claims of black hole binaries in globular clusters. I show that these candidate systems could instead be ultracompact X-ray binaries (UCXBs) in which a neutron star accretes from a white dwarf. They would…
Spectroscopic and photometric evidence indicates that Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) are the thermonuclear explosions of accreting white dwarfs. However, the progenitor binary systems and hydrodynamical models for SNe Ia are still…
We present late-time ($200-400$ days) near-infrared spectral evolution for the Type Ia supernova SN 2005df. The spectra show numerous strong emission features of [CoII], [CoIII], and [FeII] throughout the $0.8-1.8$\mu m region. As the…
A detailed analysis of the very cool white dwarfs SDSS 1337+00 and LHS 3250 is presented. Model atmosphere calculations with improved collision-induced absorptions by molecular hydrogen indicate that a pure hydrogen composition can be ruled…
The explosion energy of thermonuclear (Type Ia) supernovae is derived from the difference in nuclear binding energy liberated in the explosive fusion of light 'fuel' nuclei, predominantly carbon and oxygen, into more tightly bound nuclear…