publication . Preprint . Article . 2013

Merging white dwarfs and thermonuclear supernovae.

M. H. van Kerkwijk;
Open Access English
  • Published: 13 Jun 2013
Abstract
Thermonuclear supernovae result when interaction with a companion reignites nuclear fusion in a carbon-oxygen white dwarf, causing a thermonuclear runaway, a catastrophic gain in pressure, and the disintegration of the whole white dwarf. It is usually thought that fusion is reignited in near-pycnonuclear conditions when the white dwarf approaches the Chandrasekhar mass. I briefly describe two long-standing problems faced by this scenario, and our suggestion that these supernovae instead result from mergers of carbon-oxygen white dwarfs, including those that produce sub-Chandrasekhar mass remnants. I then turn to possible observational tests, in particular those ...
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doi: 10.1098/rsta.2012.0236
Subjects
free text keywords: Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, General Engineering, General Physics and Astronomy, General Mathematics, Astronomy, Astrophysics, Carbon detonation, Supernova, Merge (version control), Nuclear fusion, Thermonuclear fusion, White dwarf, Black dwarf, Chandrasekhar limit, Physics
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