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Hydrodynamics of the Common Envelope Phase in Binary Stellar Evolution
The common envelope (CE) phase is critical for the formation of close binary stars with at least one compact star. During this phase, a giant star engulfs its companion, which spirals into the giant’s envelope. The envelope is ejected and a close binary system results. The ejection mechanism is unknown and predicting the final state of the system is a long-standing problem in binary stellar evolution. This work establishes the moving-mesh hydrodynamics code AREPO as a new approach to model CE phases, going beyond the current state of the art. Envelopes of giants are stabilized as initial conditions. Then, the first CE simulation on a moving mesh demonstrates the occurence of dynamical instabilities. AREPO’s refinement capabilities allow high resolution around the point masses representing the core of the giant and the companion; this is essential for convergence. The first magnetohydrodynamic CE simulations show strong field amplifications possibly due to the magnetorotational instability. Analyzing the transport of angular momentum and energy yields no significant contribution by magnetic fields; main drivers are gravitational torques and shocks. Including the ionization state of the gas increases the unbound mass by releasing recombination energy, but still fails to completely eject the envelope during the simulation.
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520 Astronomie
520 Astronomy and allied sciences
530 Physik
530 Physics