The rate of WD-WD head-on collisions in isolated triples is too low to explain standard type Ia supernovae

S. Toonen, H. B. Perets, A. S. Hamers

Type Ia supernovae (Ia-SNe) are thought to arise from the thermonuclear explosions of white dwarfs (WDs). The progenitors of such explosions are still highly debated; in particular…