SPIN-UP/SPIN-DOWN MODELS FOR TYPE Ia SUPERNOVAE
- Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States)
- Department of Astrophysics/IMAPP, Radboud University Nijmegen, P.O. Box 9010, NL-6500 GL Nijmegen (Netherlands)
- Sterrekundig Instituut, Universiteit Utrecht, P.O. Box 800000, 3508 TA Utrecht (Netherlands)
In the single-degenerate scenario for Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia), a white dwarf (WD) must gain a significant amount of matter from a companion star. Because the accreted mass carries angular momentum, the WD is likely to achieve fast spin periods, which can increase the critical mass, M{sub crit}, needed for explosion. When M{sub crit} is higher than the maximum mass achieved by the WD, the central regions of the WD must spin down before it can explode. This introduces super-Chandrasekhar single-degenerate explosions, and a delay between the completion of mass gain and the time of the explosion. Matter ejected from the binary during mass transfer therefore has a chance to become diffuse, and the explosion occurs in a medium with a density similar to that of typical regions of the interstellar medium. Also, either by the end of the WD's mass increase or else by the time of explosion, the donor may exhaust its stellar envelope and become a WD. This alters, generally diminishing, explosion signatures related to the donor star. Nevertheless, the spin-up/spin-down model is highly predictive. Prior to explosion, progenitors can be super-M{sub Ch} WDs in either wide binaries with WD companions or cataclysmic variables. These systems can be discovered and studied through wide-field surveys. Post-explosion, the spin-up/spin-down model predicts a population of fast-moving WDs, low-mass stars, and even brown dwarfs. In addition, the spin-up/spin-down model provides a paradigm which may be able to explain both the similarities and the diversity observed among SNe Ia.
- OSTI ID:
- 21562455
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal Letters, Vol. 738, Issue 1; Other Information: DOI: 10.1088/2041-8205/738/1/L1; ISSN 2041-8205
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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