common-envelope phase tagged posts

Slice through the three-dimensional simulation volume after 105 days in the common envelope. In the orbital plane, the companion star and the red giant core are circling around each other. Credit: Ohlmann /HITS

HITS astrophysicists use new methods to simulate the common-envelope phase of binary stars, discovering dynamic irregularities that may help to explain how supernovae evolve. More than half the stars have a companion that can have a major impact on their primary companions. The interplay within these so-called binary star systems is particularly intensive when the 2 stars involved are going through a phase in which they are surrounded by a common envelope...