| Grant number: | 18/23562-8 |
| Support type: | Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor |
| Effective date (Start): | March 01, 2019 |
| Effective date (End): | February 29, 2020 |
| Field of knowledge: | Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Astronomy - Stellar Astrophysics |
| Principal Investigator: | Cláudia Vilega Rodrigues |
| Grantee: | Diogo Teixeira Belloni |
| Supervisor abroad: | Matthias R. Schreiber |
| Home Institution: | Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE). Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia, Inovações e Comunicações (Brasil). São José dos Campos , SP, Brazil |
| Local de pesquisa : | Universidad de Valparaíso (UV), Chile |
| Associated to the scholarship: | 17/14289-3 - Magnetic Cataclysmic variables: secular evolution with the BSE code and emission modelling with the CYCLOPS code, BP.PD |
Abstract The objective of this project is to investigate binary star pathways that may lead to type Ia supernovae (SN Ia) explosions. SN Ia represent a very, perhaps even the most, important step on the extra-galactic distance ladder, and they have led to ground-breaking discoveries such as dark energy. Despite their outstanding importance, we still struggle to understand the details of the evolutionary pathways that produce SN Ia. This is a serious problem as it is currently unknown if the existence of multiple formation channels could perhaps even result in a systematic limit in the use of SN Ia as cosmological probes. It is clear that the progenitors of SN Ia are close binaries containing at least one white dwarf (WD). The two main progenitor channels that have been proposed are the single degenerate channel in which the WD accretes from a non-degenerate companion and the double degenerate channel which explains SN Ia explosions as the merger of two WDs. However, whether nature has a strong preference for one of these channels, or whether a combination of several evolutionary channels contributes to the observed SN Ia rate, remains an open question. In order to contribute to progress with our understanding of SN Ia progenitors, we propose to investigate the double degenerate channel with the BSE code. The BSE code is a set of algorithms that describe the evolution of single and binary stars and allow fast and accurate population synthesis modelling. We intend to implement up-to-date prescriptions for WD binary formation/evolution, which will then be used to estimate SN Ia progenitor properties, as well as SN Ia rates in galaxies. These predictions will be confronted with observations that have been currently performed by members of the compact binary star group in Valparaiso. By combining up-to-date theoretical models with new observational constraints, we expect to obtain high-impact results in the field of WD binary formation/evolution that will significantly contribute to solving the SN Ia progenitor puzzle. (AU) | |