From collision to star cannibalism – a surprising variety of white dwarf exploding

Astrophysicists have discovered a surprising variety in the ways in which white dwarf stars explode in a deep universe after evaluating nearly 4,000 such events, which captured the research of the astronomical sky of the next gene. Their discoveries can help us more precisely measure the distance in space and additional our knowledge of “dark energy”.

Dramatic explosions white dwarf stars At the ends of their lives, they have been playing a key role in the study of dark energy for decades – a mysterious force responsible for accelerating the expansion of the universe. They also provide the origins of many elements in our periodic table, such as titanium, iron and nickel, which are formed in extremely dense and hot conditions present during their explosions.

The main turning point was achieved in our understanding of these explosive transition samples with the publication of the main set of data and the connected 21 publications in Astronomy and astrophysics Special edition.

This unique set of data of nearly 4,000 nearby Supernova is many times higher than previous similar patterns and has enabled key breakthroughs in understanding the way these white dwarves explode. The sample was obtained by Zwicky Passing Facility (ZTF), an exploration of the astronomical sky under the guidance of Caltech, with a key involvement of researchers at the Trinity College Dublin, led by Prof. Kate Maguire at the School of Physics.

“Thanks to the unique ZTF ability to quickly and deeply scan the sky, it was possible to discover new stars explosions up to a million times weaker than the smallest stars visible to the naked eye,” says Prof. Maguire.

One of the key results led by a group in Trinity is the discovery that there are multiple exotic ways in which white dwarfs can explode, including two stars collisions in glittering star glasses, as well as star cannibalism by their companions with double stars.

This is only possible with this pattern because of the ability to detect very weak blinks combined with large sample sizes. And the surprising variety may have the consequences for the use of these Supernov to measure distance in space, as limitations to dark energy properties are crucially demanding that these explosions can be standardized.

“The diversity of the way white dwarf can be blown is much greater than expected, resulting in explosions moving from so weak that they are barely visible to others who are bright enough to see more months after that,” says Prof. .