Statistics – Computation
Scientific paper
Jan 2010
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2010aas...21541930p&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #215, #419.30; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 42, p.281
Statistics
Computation
Scientific paper
We are currently investigating the common envelope (CE) interaction through computational analyses. This mechanism is thought to take place when an expanding primary transfers mass to a companion at a rate so high that the companion cannot accrete it. This results in the companion being engulfed by the envelope of the primary. The companion orbital energy is then donated to the envelope via an as yet poorly characterized mechanism. This might result in the partial or total ejection of the envelope, and in a much reduced orbital separation. The CE interaction has never been witnessed directly, but the existence of companions in close orbits around evolved stars, whose precursor's radius was larger than today's orbital separation, vouches for such interaction having taken place.
The most usual way to parametrize the CE interaction is to use the α-formalism which describes the fraction of orbital energy released by the compact companion that is available to eject the envelope of the primary. Unfortunately, this formalism remains quite basic. Every aspect we cannot quantify properly such as the stellar response of the primary or extra energy sources - recombination, ionization for instance - is put in this parameter α.
In order to improve our parametrization and our understanding of the CE interaction, we have been using Enzo (Bryan & Norman 1997), an adaptive mesh refinement hybrid grid-based code that we have adapted to the stellar problem. We have run several simulations of CE interaction with different companion masses and different types of primary stars - main sequence stars and giant stars - as well. In this contribution, we will present and discuss the results we obtained and compare them to Smooth Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) simulations.
This research was funded by NSF grant 0607111.
No associations
LandOfFree
New Simulations of the Common Envelope Interaction Using Grid-based and SPH Codes does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with New Simulations of the Common Envelope Interaction Using Grid-based and SPH Codes, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and New Simulations of the Common Envelope Interaction Using Grid-based and SPH Codes will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-966875