Faint Thermonuclear Supernovae from AM Canum Venaticorum Binaries
Faint Thermonuclear Supernovae from AM Canum Venaticorum Binaries
Helium that accretes onto a carbon/oxygen white dwarf in double white dwarf AM Canum Venaticorum (AM CVn) binaries undergoes unstable thermonuclear flashes when the orbital period is in the 3.5-25 minute range. At the shortest orbital periods (and highest accretion rates, > 10-7 M☉ yr-1), the flashes are weak and …