Neutron Star-Main Sequence Collisions Robustly Form Dynamically Stable Thorne-Żytkow Objects

Abstract

Thorne-Żytkow Objects (TŻOs) are hypothetical hybrid stars with a neutron star at the core of a large, diffuse envelope. (TŻOs) may be formed when a newly formed neutron star that is kicked by its supernova collides with its main-sequence companion. Using a moving-mesh hydrodynamics solver integrated into the parallel-code Charm N-body GrAvity solver, we demonstrate that these ``impact scenario'' formation processes robustly form (TŻOs) for periastron distances less than one stellar radius. These (TŻOs) are dynamically stable and they can serve as initial models for further evolutionary studies.

Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal (2025). This version corresponds to the accepted manuscript prior to final copyediting and typesetting by ApJ

References in corpus (9)

• Modules for Experiments in Stellar Astrophysics (MESA)
• Modules for Experiments in Stellar Astrophysics (MESA): Pulsating Variable Stars, Rotation, Convective Boundaries, and Energy Conservation
• Binary Population and Spectral Synthesis Version 2.1: construction, observational verification and new results
• Discovery of a Thorne-Zytkow object candidate in the Small Magellanic Cloud
• Common Envelope Evolution on a Moving Mesh
• Rich: Open Source Hydrodynamic Simulation on a Moving Voronoi Mesh
• HV2112, a Thorne-Zytkow Object or a Super Asymptotic Giant Branch Star
• Neutron stars colliding with binary companions: formation of hypervelocity stars, pulsar planets, bumpy superluminous supernovae and Thorne-Żytkow objects
• A Moving Mesh Hydrodynamic Solver for ChaNGa