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A Clash of Clusters Provides New Clue to Dark Matter
Special ACKS Seminar: Dragan Huterer
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ACKS Seminar: Joel Tohline (Louisiana State University)
| What | ACKS |
|---|---|
| When |
10 April 08 from 04:00 pm to 05:00 pm |
| Where | CAMPUS: Phys & Astrophys Bldg., 1st fl., conf rm (102/103) |
| Contact Name | Lukasz Stawarz |
| Contact Email | stawarz@slac.stanford.edu |
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Mass Transfer in Double White Dwarf Binaries (Progenitors to Type Ia SNe?)
In discussions of stellar evolution, it is generally believed that a catastrophic event will occur if and when the mass of a white dwarf (WD) climbs above the Chandrasekhar mass limit (1.4 solar masses). In particular, the favored progenitor model for Type Ia supernovae is a mass-transferring binary star system in which the accreting star is a normal WD. Supernova ignition occurs when sufficient material has been transferred from the "donor star" to the WD to push the WD over its critical mass limit. We are using computational fluid dynamic (CFD) techniques to simulate the process of tidally induced mass transfer in binary star systems that contain two WD stars, that is, systems in which the donor star as well as the accreting star is a WD. We have found that, depending on the binary system's initial mass ratio, a mass-transfer event can lead to merger of the two WDs, tidal disruption of the donor star, or a long phase of stable mass-transfer. In addition to being possible progenitors of Type Ia SNe, double WD binaries that enter a stable phase of mass transfer are also likely to be the progenitors of the AM CVn class of accreting binary systems.
MASS: Lance Simms