# White dwarf dynamical interactions and fast optical transients

## TL;DR

This paper uses 3D simulations of white dwarf collisions to explain the origins of various fast optical transients, matching observed properties of some transient types.

## Contribution

It provides a detailed theoretical model linking white dwarf interactions to specific classes of fast optical transients, expanding understanding of their origins.

## Key findings

- White dwarf collisions can produce light curves matching fast/bright transients.
- Helium white dwarf collisions resemble Ca-rich gap transients.
- Model light curves do not match .Ia supernovae or normal Type Ia supernovae.

## Abstract

Recent advances in time-domain astronomy have uncovered a new class of optical transients with timescales shorter than typical supernovae and a wide range of peak luminosities. Several subtypes have been identified within this broad class, including Ca-rich transients, .Ia supernovae, and fast/bright transients. We examine the predic- tions from a state-of-the-art grid of three-dimensional simulations of dynamical white dwarf interactions in the context of these fast optical transients. We find that for colli- sions involving carbon-oxygen or oxygen-neon white dwarfs the peak luminosities and durations of the light curves in our models are in good agreement with the properties of fast/bright transients. When one of the colliding white dwarfs is made of helium the properties of the light curves are similar to those of Ca-rich gap transients. The model lightcurves from our white dwarf collisions are too slow to reproduce those of .Ia SNe, and too fast to match any normal or peculiar Type Ia supernova.