White dwarf dynamical interactions and fast optical transients

Abstract

Recent advances in time-domain astronomy have uncovered a new class of optical transients with timescales shorter than typical supernovae and a wide range of peak luminosities. Several subtypes have been identified within this broad class, including Ca-rich transients, .Ia supernovae, and fast/bright transients. We examine the predic- tions from a state-of-the-art grid of three-dimensional simulations of dynamical white dwarf interactions in the context of these fast optical transients. We find that for colli- sions involving carbon-oxygen or oxygen-neon white dwarfs the peak luminosities and durations of the light curves in our models are in good agreement with the properties of fast/bright transients. When one of the colliding white dwarfs is made of helium the properties of the light curves are similar to those of Ca-rich gap transients. The model lightcurves from our white dwarf collisions are too slow to reproduce those of .Ia SNe, and too fast to match any normal or peculiar Type Ia supernova.

Accepted for publication in MNRAS

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• JWST Low-Resolution MIRI Spectral Observations of SN~2021aefx: High-density Burning in a Type Ia Supernova
• Calcium-rich Transient SN 2019ehk in A Star-Forming Environment: Yet Another Candidate for An Ultra-Stripped Envelope Supernova
• Chandra X-ray Constraints on the Candidate Ca-rich Gap Transient SN 2016hnk
• The two most recent thermonuclear supernovae in the Local Group: radio constraints on their progenitors and evolution
• Spectropolarimetry of the Type Ia SN 2019ein rules out significant global asphericity of the ejecta