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Accreting White Dwarfs and type Ia Supernovae
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 April 2016
Abstract
The question of the possible progenitors of supernovae Type la (SNe la) is examined. It is argued that SNe la are thermonuclear explosions of accreting C-O white dwarfs. The existing observational evidence favors somewhat models in which the exploding star ignites carbon upon reaching the Chandrasekhar mass. A careful examination of all the potential progenitor classes reveals that when realization frequencies are combined with a variety of observational charcteristics, no single class emerges as containing the obvious progenitors. It is argued that coalescing white dwarfs or supersoft X-ray sources are the most likely progenitor systems. A few critical observations which could help identify the progenitors unambiguously are discussed.
- Type
- Supernovae & Supersoft X-Ray Sources
- Information
- International Astronomical Union Colloquium , Volume 158: Cataclysmic Variables and Related Objects , 1996 , pp. 407 - 415
- Copyright
- Copyright © Kluwer 1996
References
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