Related papers: An evolutionary scenario for the U Scorpii
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…
The recent discovery of a neutron star accretor in the ultra-luminous X-ray source M82 X-2 challenges our understanding of high-mass X-ray binary formation and evolution. By combining binary population synthesis and detailed mass-transfer…
Massive stars evolve toward the catastrophic collapse of their innermost core, producing core-collapse supernova (SN) explosions as the end products. White dwarfs, formed through evolution of the less massive stars, also explode as…
Binary systems are very common among field stars. While this relatively small number of planets in binaries is probably partly due to strong observational biases, there is, however, statistical evidence that planets are indeed less frequent…
The brightness of type Ia supernovae, and their homogeneity as a class, makes them powerful tools in cosmology, yet little is known about the progenitor systems of these explosions. They are thought to arise when a white dwarf accretes…
The majority of stars in the Galactic field and halo are part of binary or multiple systems. A significant fraction of these systems have orbital separations in excess of thousands of astronomical units, and systems wider than a parsec have…
In this paper, we investigate the orbital and stellar parameters of low- and intermediate-mass close binary systems. We use models, presented in the catalogue of (Han et al. 2000) and calculate parameters of accretors. We also construct…
We have carried out a detailed study of one of the most popular evolutionary channels for the production of Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) progenitors, the semi-degenerate channel (CO+MS), where a carbon/oxygen (CO) white dwarf (WD) accretes…
We examine recent studies on the formation rate of planetary nebulae and find this rate to be about one-third of the formation rate of white dwarfs. This implies than only about one-third of all planetary nebulae that evolve to form white…
The binaries PSR J1141-6545 and PSR B2303+46 each appear to contain a white dwarf which formed before the neutron star. We describe an evolutionary pathway to produce these two systems. In this scenario, the primary transfers its envelope…
Planets and other low-mass binary companions to stars face a variety of potential fates as their host stars move off the main sequence and grow to subgiants and giants. Stellar mass loss tends to make orbits expand, and tidal torques tend…
According to the recycling scenario, millisecond pulsars (MSPs) have evolved from low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs). Their orbits are expected to be circular due to tidal interactions during the binary evolution, as observed in most of the…
The observed sub-class of "superluminous" Type Ia supernovae lacks a convincing theoretical explanation. If the emission of such objects were powered exclusively by radioactive decay of 56Ni formed in the explosion, a progenitor mass close…
Practically all known planet hosts will evolve into white dwarfs, and large parts of their planetary systems will survive this transition - the same is true for the solar system beyond the orbit of Mars. Spectroscopy of white dwarfs…
Over 30 planetary systems have been discovered to reside in binary stars. For small separations gravitational perturbation of the secondary star has a strong influence on the planet formation process. It truncates the protoplanetary disk,…
Hot subdwarf stars (sdO/Bs) are evolved core helium-burning stars with very thin hydrogen envelopes, which can be formed by common envelope ejection. Close sdB binaries with massive white dwarf (WD) companions are potential progenitors of…
Subdwarf B (sdB) stars are thought to be helium burning stars with low mass hydrogen envelopes. Several evolutionary paths have been proposed to explain the formation of these systems. One of these scenarios is the evolution of the sdB…
White dwarfs with a F, G or K type companion represent the last common ancestor for a plethora of exotic systems throughout the galaxy, though to this point very few of them have been fully characterised in terms of orbital period and…
We have started a large survey for double degenerate (DD) binaries as potential progenitors of type Ia supernovae with the UVES spectrograph at the ESO VLT (ESO SN Ia Progenitor surveY - SPY). About 400 white dwarfs were checked for radial…
It is currently admitted that an AGB star in a binary system is likely to pollute its companion with carbon- and s-process-rich matter. After the AGB star has faded into an unconspicuous white dwarf, the polluted companion enters the zoo of…