AST 301 Lecture Notes - Lecture 38: Type Ia Supernova, White Dwarf, Binary Star
Document Summary
The cores left behind by a supernova are not easily visible to the human eye. In the past superno(cid:448)a (cid:449)ere recorded as (cid:862)guest stars(cid:863), this gi(cid:448)es us a hint to (cid:449)here their old cores may be. We can only detect the presence if there is a companion star. The gas moves fast and it gets very hot, they are detected in x-rays. If a stellar core has significantly more mass than a neutron star: It would keep collapsing and nothing could stop it. Surface gravity would get stronger and stronger as it collapsed further. Stars get so big they surpass their roche lobe and material transfers to another star. If they are close enough mass can move from one star to another. White dwarf in a binary type 1a supernova. Binary with a companion can go supernova. The fast transfer of a lot of mass to a white dwarf can lead to runaway nuclear reactions, resulting in explosion.
