Figure 1 (IMAGE)
Caption
The main evolutionary stages towards, and beyond, accretion induced collapse of a white dwarf. (1) T = 0 years: A primary and secondary star. (2) T = 44 million years: First interaction after starburst where the primary star undergoes Roche Lobe Overflow as it expands on the main sequence, and the secondary star accretes matter stably. (3) T = 54 million years: The primary star evolves while donating mass to the MS secondary. (4) This is followed by a phase where the binary orbit shrinks and the primary star becomes a Giant Branch Naked Helium star before evolving into an Oxygen/Neon White Dwarf star. (5) T = 83 million years: The primary star continues accreting mass for another 20 million years until the secondary star collapses into a Carbon/Oxygen White Dwarf star. (6) T = 108 million years: The system has remained dormant until now, while spiraling closer via gravitational radiation. (7) T = 109 million years: The Oxygen/Neon White Dwarf star accretes mass from the Carbon/Oxygen White Dwarf star. Once the Oxygen/Neon White Dwarf star approaches the Chandrasekhar limit for rotationally supported white dwarf stars, it undergoes accretion induced collapse to form a neutron star. Soon afterwards, the neutron star begins accreting mass from the Carbon/Oxygen White Dwarf star.
Credit
Oscar Macias et al./Kavli IPMU
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