The extremely strong gravity of a massive neutron star in orbit with
a companion white dwarf star puts competing theories of gravity to a test more stringent than any available before
Not exact matches
Matter falling from a
companion star onto a
white dwarf might have induced a thermonuclear chain reaction that forced the
dwarf to expand radically without exploding into a more common nova, Bond notes.
CANNIBAL ZOMBIE STAR Dead
stars called
white dwarfs (left) steal material from ordinary
companion stars (right), as shown in this artist's illustration.
The
companion star may have dumped its gas on the
white dwarf until the added weight sparked a thermonuclear detonation.
The event was what's known as a classical nova explosion, which occurs when a dense stellar corpse called a
white dwarf steals enough material from an ordinary
companion star for its gas to spontaneously ignite.
That happens if it has a
companion star, as most
stars in the galaxy do, and the
white dwarf orbits it closely enough to steal material from it.
A nova can occur if the strong gravity of a
white dwarf pulls material from its orbiting
companion star.
The measurement is the distance to SS Cygni, a
star system consisting of a
white dwarf plus a
companion.
Another, less common kind of supernova, type 1a, occurs when a remnant of a
star called a
white dwarf steals matter from a
companion star until the
white dwarf explodes (SN: 4/30/16, p. 20).
At first glance this exploding
star had all the features of a type Ia supernova, which happens when a small, dense
white dwarf star steals material from an orbiting
companion and then explodes.
Sandage's preferred method is to use type Ia supernovae, which arise when a
white dwarf star gathers material from a
companion and explodes.
These so - called supersoft sources are now thought to be
white dwarf stars that cannibalize their stellar
companions and then, in many cases, explode
When Sigurdsson and colleagues analyzed images of the
white dwarf from the Hubble Space Telescope, they concluded that the distant, unseen
companion is not a low - mass
star, as many researchers had thought, but a planet with about 2.5 times the mass of Jupiter.
[3] Type Ia Supernovae occur when an accreting
white dwarf in a binary
star system slowly gains mass from its
companion until it reaches a limit that triggers the nuclear fusion of carbon.
PSR J1713 +0747, as it is known, has a tiny
white dwarf companion star, and the two orbit each other exceptionally predictably.
Such a supernova is supposed to result when a larger
companion star dumps material onto the
white dwarf, triggering a runaway nuclear reaction that annihilates the small
star.
Astronomers have detected a sub-stellar object that used to be a
star, after being consumed by its
white dwarf companion.
Neither study searched for the
stars responsible for so - called type Ia supernovae, which are explosions of
white dwarf stars that have grown overweight by feasting on material from a
companion star.
Such a shock could not have been produced if the
companion were another
white dwarf star.
The UCSB - led research implies that the
white dwarf was stealing matter from a much larger
companion star — approximately 20 times the radius of the sun — which caused the
white dwarf to explode.
Astronomers thought
white dwarfs gained mass from a
companion star, but about half of the type Ia supernovae show no signs of a
companion.
The first so - called helium nova, the possible result of a large
white dwarf sucking material from a hydrogen - deficient
companion star, may be a precursor to a supernova
The
white dwarf accretes material from the
companion star, then at some point, it might explode as a type Ia supernova.
Specifically, the most energetic iron emission they studied is characteristic of so - called x-ray binary starsduos comprised of a dense stellar object such as a
white dwarf star, a neutron
star or a black hole that collects matter from a less dense
companion, emitting x-rays in the process.
The traditional view held that a
white dwarf, locked in a binary pairing with another
star, sucked matter from its
companion, growing ever larger in size until it could no longer support its own weight.
In this theory material from the
companion star is accreted onto the
white dwarf until its mass reaches a limit, leading to a dramatic explosion.
Both occur in systems where two
stars orbit each other: a
white dwarf sucks away the outer layers of a larger
companion star until the smaller
star reaches a critical mass, causing an explosion.
The second theory proposes that only one
star in the system is a
white dwarf, while its
companion is a normal
star.
A binary
star system (consisting of a
white dwarf and a
companion star) that rapidly brightens, then slowly fades back to normal.
«Our final image should show us a
companion 100 times fainter than any other
white dwarf orbiting a neutron
star and about 10 times fainter than any known
white dwarf, but we don't see a thing,» team member Bart Dunlap, a graduate student from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said in a statement.
12 systems were resolved as new binaries, including the discovery of a new
white dwarf companion to the
star HD8049.
The find reveals surprising information about the
companion star next to the
white dwarf that sparked the spectacle.
The
companion star, is a
white dwarf, stellar remnant and is so dim that it can not be perceived with the naked eye.
David Aguilar, Harvard - Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics — larger «day» and «night» images At maximum brightness, Mira would light up a hypothetical planetary
companion, but at its most dark, the giant
star's small, hot
white dwarf companion would become visible (more discussion with illustration).
HD 147513 A is a so - called young «Barium
dwarf» (s - process element rich but comparatively carbon deficient)
star that was probably enriched by an asymptotic branch giant (AGB)
star (see Gacrux) but is now a very dim,
white dwarf companion, which has an observed separation of around 4,400 AUs — 5.7» at a HIPPARCOS distance estimate of 42.0 ly (Porto de Mello and da Silva, 1997; and Poveda et al, 1993, pp. 74 - 75).
Nicknamed «the Pup» as the much smaller
companion to the Dog
Star, this much dimmer object is a
white dwarf (DA2 - 5 or A2 - 5 VII).
They are so called because one of the pair of stellar
companions is a normal
star and the other a compact object — a
white dwarf, neutron
star, or possibly a black hole.
H. Bond (STSci), R. Ciardullo (PSU), WFPC2, HST, NASA HD 147513 B is a young
white dwarf (a remnant stellar core which enriched its binary
companion,
Star A) with elements heavier than hydrogen when it cast off its outer gas layers) like planetary nebula NGC 2440.
The
star may have an unseen, close spectroscopic
companion, which could be a very dim red
dwarf star or a
white dwarf stellar remnant (more below).
Stars with white dwarf companions are common; some of the brightest stars in the sky have white dwarf companions, like Sirius and Pro
Stars with
white dwarf companions are common; some of the brightest
stars in the sky have white dwarf companions, like Sirius and Pro
stars in the sky have
white dwarf companions, like Sirius and Procyon.
the first debris disk around a
star with a
companion white dwarf!
Such «barium
stars» may be binaries, where a more massive
companion has already thrown off its outer gas envelopes as a planetary nebula in becoming a
white dwarf (see HD 147513 AB).
[VIDEO: Cannibal
White Dwarf Feeds on
Companion Star]
As the
white dwarf pulls material from a
companion star, the temperature increases, eventually triggering a runaway reaction that detonates in a violent supernova that destroys the
white dwarf.
The giants among those
stars are presumed to produce this carbon themselves, but some
stars in this class are double
stars, whose odd atmosphere is suspected of having been transferred from a
companion that is now a
white dwarf, when the
companion was a carbon -
star.
type 1a supernova A supernova that results from some binary (paired)
star systems in which a
white dwarf star gains matter from a
companion.
During that night, the scientists were able to measure the changing Doppler shift of the
star NLTT 11748 as it orbited its faint, but more massive,
white dwarf companion.
The Sun, the 12 brightest
stars of the Northern Hemisphere and the
white dwarf companion stars to Sirius and Procyon are shown.