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Convection in common envelopes and the formation of double white dwarfs

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 October 2020

E. C. Wilson Open the ORCID record for E. C. Wilson [Opens in a new window]  and
J. Nordhaus
E. C. Wilson
Affiliation:
Center for Computational Relativity and Gravitation, Rochester Institute of Technology, NY14623, USA email: ecw7497@rit.edu
J. Nordhaus
Affiliation:
Center for Computational Relativity and Gravitation, Rochester Institute of Technology, NY14623, USA email: ecw7497@rit.edu National Technical Institute for the Deaf, Rochester Institute of Technology, NY14623, USA email: nordhaus@astro.rit.edu
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Abstract

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Formation of close double white dwarfs likely requires the initial binary system to evolve through two successive common envelope (CE) phases. A prominent method for describing CE outcomes involves defining an ejection efficiency, αeff, which quantifies the fraction of orbital energy available to unbind the envelope. Reproducing observed post-CE orbital parameters has proven difficult for numerical simulations, as the companion’s decaying orbit fails to eject the envelope. The ejection failure seen in numerical simulations may be resolved with a proper treatment of convection, whereby the binary orbit shrinks before energy can drive ejection. Where the orbital decay timescale exceeds the convective transport timescale, the energy released during inspiral is carried to the stellar surface and radiated away. By including convection, we produce sub-day post-CE orbital periods, a result consistent with observations. We comment on the effects of convection for the population of double white dwarfs that evolve through two CEs.

Keywords

(stars:) binaries: generalstars: AGB and post-AGBplanet-star interactions – convection(stars:) white dwarfs(stars:) binaries: close
Type
Contributed Papers
Information
Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union , Volume 15 , Symposium S357: White Dwarfs as Probes of Fundamental Physics: Tracers of Planetary, Stellar and Galactic Evolution , October 2019 , pp. 16 - 19
Copyright
© International Astronomical Union 2020

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