Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics – Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2010-10-07
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
Accepted to Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Under PNAS embargo until time of publication
Scientific paper
The origin of highly-magnetized white dwarfs has remained a mystery since their initial discovery. Recent observations indicate that the formation of high-field magnetic white dwarfs is intimately related to strong binary interactions during post-main-sequence phases of stellar evolution. If a low-mass companion, such as a planet, brown dwarf, or low-mass star is engulfed by a post-main-sequence giant, the hydrodynamic drag in the envelope of the giant leads to a reduction of the companion's orbit. Sufficiently low-mass companions in-spiral until they are shredded by the strong gravitational tides near the white dwarf core. Subsequent formation of a super-Eddington accretion disk from the disrupted companion inside a common envelope can dramatically amplify magnetic fields via a dynamo. Here, we show that these disk-generated fields are sufficiently strong to explain the observed range of magnetic field strengths for isolated, high-field magnetic white dwarfs. A higher-mass binary analogue may also contribute to the origin of magnetar fields.
Blackman Eric G.
Metzger Brian D.
Nordhaus Jason
Spiegel David S.
Wellons Sarah
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