Common envelopes at StanFest

TL;DR

This paper discusses recent research on common envelope phases in binary star systems, focusing on the onset, outcomes, and observational signatures like light curves, aiming to better understand these complex stellar interactions.

Contribution

It presents new insights into the dynamics and observational features of common envelope events, including properties of remnants and outflows, based on recent work by the authors.

Findings

Analysis of unstable mass transfer processes

Characterization of post-envelope binary properties

Initial modeling of common envelope light curves

Abstract

We describe some of our group's recent work on common envelopes. Our goal is to understand the onset and outcomes of dynamically unstable mass transfer, including the properties of the binaries left behind and the outflows during the common envelope stage. We have also started thinking about light curves of common envelope events. During a talk at StanFest, a meeting in honour of Stan Owocki's retirement held in Leuven in July, 2024, the first author reported on some of the results we recently obtained and briefly outlined future prospects.