Interacting compact binaries: modeling mass transfer in eccentric systems

Abstract

We discuss mass transfer in eccentric binaries containing a white dwarf and a neutron star (WD--NS binaries). We show that such binaries are produced from field binaries following a series of mass transfer episodes that allow the white dwarf to form before the neutron star. We predict the orbital properties of binaries similar to the observed WD--NS binary J1141+6545, and show that they will undergo episodic mass transfer from the white dwarf to the neutron star. Furthermore, we describe oil-on-water, a two-phase SPH formalism that we have developed in order to model mass transfer in such binaries.

4 pages, 2 figures, to appear in the ASP conference series proceedings of "Advances in Computational Astrophysics: methods, tools, and outcomes" in Cefalu', Italy, June 13-17, 2011