Collapse of White Dwarfs in Close Binary Systems

Abstract

The presence of neutron stars in close binary systems, shown by the pulsating X-ray sources, poses the problem of their origin. In the case of the low-mass (M1 + M2 ≤ 5 M⊙) X-ray binaries, the neutron star might have originated from a massive white dwarf, driven over the Chandrasekhar limit by mass transfer (Schatzman 1974). A similar scenario had been put forward by Whelan and Iben (1973) for type I supernovae. To solve the problem of the very low eccentricities observed for the orbits, and to facilitate keeping the system bound after neutron star formation, Canal and Schatzman (1976) suggested a non explosive collapse of the white dwarf to a neutron star. The occurence of this kind of collapse depended on the possibility of avoiding thermonuclear ignition by means of neutronization. Since there is a density interval where the electron captures on carbon go faster than the pycnonuclear reactions, just above the critical density for the beginning of the collapse, there seemed also to be a chance of escape from thermonuclear runaway. A closer examination of this picture leads, however, to significant changes.