• P-ISSN 0974-6846 E-ISSN 0974-5645

Indian Journal of Science and Technology

Article

Slow Accretion of Helium Rich Matter onto C-O White Dwarf: Does Composition of WD Matter?
  • VIEWS 730
  • PDF 195

Indian Journal of Science and Technology

DOI: 10.17485/IJST/v14i44.1681

Year: 2021, Volume: 14, Issue: 44, Pages: 3288-3294

Original Article

Slow Accretion of Helium Rich Matter onto C-O White Dwarf: Does Composition of WD Matter?

Harish Kumar1, Abhinav Gupta1, Siddharth Savyasachi Malu2, Shashikant Gupta1*

1Department of Basic and Applied Sciences, G D Goenka University Gurugram, 122102, India
2Department of Astronomy, Astrophysics and Space Engineering, IIT Indore, 453552, India

*Corresponding Author
Email: [email protected]

Received Date:02 October 2021, Accepted Date:07 December 2021, Published Date:22 December 2021

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Abstract

Background: In binary systems, the helium accretion onto carbon-oxygen (CO) white dwarfs (WDs) plays a vital role in many astrophysical scenarios, especially in supernovae type Ia. Moreover, ignition density for accretion rate M ≲ 10-9 M yr-1 in helium accreting CO white dwarfs decides the triggering mechanism of a supernova explosion which could be either off-centre helium flash or central carbon flash. Objectives: We aim to study the accretion of helium with a slow accretion rate 510-10 M yr-1 onto relatively cool and hot white dwarfs of different abundances of carbon and oxygen. Methods: The simulation code “Modules for Experiments in Stellar Astrophysics” (MESA) has been used for our study. We analyze the variation in several properties like surface gravity (g), helium luminosity (LHe), and effective temperature (Te f f ) during the accretion phase of the white dwarfs. We also calculate the ignition density (rHe) and ignition temperature (THe) of helium burning. Findings: As expected, the size of WD decreases and g increases during the accretion. However, a red-giant-like expansion is observed after the rapid ignition towards the end. Novelty: This is the first-ever study of the dependence of helium accreting WD evolution on its composition. We find that white dwarfs of the lower abundance of carbon accrete slightly longer before the onset of helium ignition.

Keywords: Supernovae Ia; White Dwarfs; Accretion; Helium fusion; Stellar evolution

References

  1. Peng F, Ott CD. HELIUM IGNITION ON ACCRETING NEUTRON STARS WITH A NEW TRIPLE-α REACTION RATE. The Astrophysical Journal. 2010;725(1):309–312. Available from: https://dx.doi.org/10.1088/0004-637x/725/1/309
  3. Hillebrandt W, Niemeyer JC. Type Ia Supernova Explosion Models. Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics. 2000;38(1):191–230. Available from: https://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev.astro.38.1.191
  4. Hillebrandt W, Reinecke M, Niemeyer JC. Thermonuclear supernovae. Computer Physics Communications. 2000;127(1):53–58. Available from: https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/s0010-4655(00)00021-7
  6. Wang B, Podsiadlowski P, Han Z. He-accreting carbon–oxygen white dwarfs and Type Ia supernovae. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 2017;472(2):1593–1599. Available from: https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stx2192
  7. Nomoto K, Saio H, Kato M, Hachisu I. Thermal Stability of White Dwarfs Accreting Hydrogen‐rich Matter and Progenitors of Type Ia Supernovae. The Astrophysical Journal. 2007;663(2):1269–1276. doi: 10.1086/518465
  8. Kasen D, Woosley SE. On the Origin of the Type Ia Supernova Width‐Luminosity Relation. The Astrophysical Journal. 2007;656(2):661–665. Available from: https://dx.doi.org/10.1086/510375
  9. Nomoto K, Kamiya Y, Nakasato N. Type Ia Supernova Models and Progenitor Scenarios. Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union. 2011;7(S281):253–260. Available from: https://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s1743921312015165
  11. Röpke FK, Hillebrandt W, Blinnikov SI. On the mechanism of type ia supernovae. European Space Agency, (Special Publication). 2006;637(1):1–8. Available from: https://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0609631
  13. Paxton B, Bildsten L, Dotter A, Herwig F, Lesaffre P, Timmes F. MODULES FOR EXPERIMENTS IN STELLAR ASTROPHYSICS (MESA) The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. 2011;192(1):3. Available from: https://dx.doi.org/10.1088/0067-0049/192/1/3
  14. Paxton B, Marchant P, Schwab J, Bauer EB, Bildsten L, Cantiello M, et al. MODULES FOR EXPERIMENTS IN STELLAR ASTROPHYSICS (MESA): BINARIES, PULSATIONS, AND EXPLOSIONS. The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. 2015;220(1):15. Available from: https://dx.doi.org/10.1088/0067-0049/220/1/15
  15. Paxton B, Smolec R, Schwab J, Gautschy A, Bildsten L, Cantiello M, et al. Modules for Experiments in Stellar Astrophysics (MESA): Pulsating Variable Stars, Rotation, Convective Boundaries, and Energy Conservation. The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. 2019;243(1):10. Available from: https://dx.doi.org/10.3847/1538-4365/ab2241
  16. Fushiki I, Lamb DQ. S-matrix calculation of the triple-alpha reaction. The Astrophysical Journal. 1987;317:368. Available from: https://dx.doi.org/10.1086/165284
  17. Piersanti L, Tornambé A, Yungelson LR. He-accreting white dwarfs: accretion regimes and final outcomes. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 2014;445(3):3239–3262. Available from: https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stu1885

Copyright

© 2021 Kumar et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Published By Indian Society for Education and Environment (iSee)

  • 05 January 2022

Year: 2021, Volume: 14, Issue: 44

Article Metrics


Post Graduate Fellowship in Research Communication

More articles

DON'T MISS OUT!

Subscribe now for latest articles and news.