A Single Binary May Host Recurrent Thermonuclear Supernovae

TL;DR

This study explores whether a single white dwarf in a binary system can produce multiple thermonuclear supernovae, including Type Iax and Type Ia, through successive helium accretion phases.

Contribution

It demonstrates, using MESA simulations, that close binaries with high-mass donors can plausibly host multiple supernovae from a single white dwarf.

Findings

High-mass donor binaries increase supernova likelihood.

Multiple SNe Iax can occur from a single white dwarf system.

Potential for a Type Ia supernova after double WD formation.

Abstract

The most commonly accepted progenitor system for Type Iax supernovae (SNe Iax) is the partial deflagration of a near-Chandrasekhar-mass white dwarf (WD) accreting from a non-degenerate helium donor star, leaving a bound remnant following the explosion. In this paper, we investigate whether the WD remant can undergo multiple SNe during the system's lifetime. We use Modules for Experiments in Astrophysics (MESA) to evolve various single-degenerate binaries to determine which could plausibly undergo multiple SNe Iax due to multiple helium accretion phases. We also investigate the possibility for a subsequent Type Ia SN after the formation of a double WD system. Our work concludes that close binaries with relatively high-mass donors produce the highest probability for several thermonuclear SNe.