Faint supernovae and hyper-runaway white-dwarfs from single He-detonation in double HeCO-white-dwarf mergers
Abstract
We present three-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations of mergers between low-mass hybrid HeCO white dwarfs (WDs), offering new insights into the diversity of thermonuclear transients. Unlike previously studied mergers involving higher-mass HeCO WDs and CO WDs, where helium detonation often triggers core ignition, our simulations reveal incomplete helium shell detonations in comparable-mass, lower-mass WD pairs. The result is a faint, rapidly evolving transient driven by the ejection of intermediate-mass elements and radioactive isotopes such as 48 Cr and 52 Fe, without significant 56 Ni production. These transients may be detectable in upcoming wide-field surveys and could account for a subset of faint thermonuclear supernovae. Long-term evolution of the merger remnant shows that high-velocity PG-1159-type stars might be formed through this scenario, similar to normal CO-CO white dwarf mergers. This work expands our understanding of white dwarf mergers and their implications for nucleosynthesis and stellar evolution.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae
Pulsars and Gravitational Waves Research
Space Science and Extraterrestrial Life
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Journal of High Energy Astrophysics
- Volume
- 55
- Pages
- 100711–100711
- Publication date
- 24 July 2026
- Language
- EN