Spiral instability can drive thermonuclear explosions in binary white dwarf mergers
Kashyap, R; Fisher, R; Garcia-Berro, E; et al.Aznar-Siguan, G; Ji, S; Loren-Aguilar, P
Date: 4 February 2015
Journal
Astrophysical Journal Letters
Publisher
American Astronomical Society
Publisher DOI
Abstract
Thermonuclear, or Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia), originate from the explosion of carbon–oxygen white dwarfs, and serve as standardizable cosmological candles. However, despite their importance, the nature of the progenitor systems that give rise to SNe Ia has not been hitherto elucidated. Observational evidence favors the double-degenerate ...
Thermonuclear, or Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia), originate from the explosion of carbon–oxygen white dwarfs, and serve as standardizable cosmological candles. However, despite their importance, the nature of the progenitor systems that give rise to SNe Ia has not been hitherto elucidated. Observational evidence favors the double-degenerate channel in which merging white dwarf binaries lead to SNe Ia. Furthermore, significant discrepancies exist between observations and theory, and to date, there has been no self-consistent merger model that yields a SNe Ia. Here we show that a spiral mode instability in the accretion disk formed during a binary white dwarf merger leads to a detonation on a dynamical timescale. This mechanism sheds light on how white dwarf mergers may frequently yield SNe Ia.
Physics and Astronomy
Faculty of Environment, Science and Economy
Item views 0
Full item downloads 0