Transients from the Cataclysmic Deaths of Cataclysmic Variables

We explore the observational appearance of the merger of a low-mass star with a white dwarf (WD) binary companion. We are motivated by recent work finding that multiple tensions between the observed properties of cataclysmic variables (CVs) and standard evolution models are resolved if a large fraction of CV binaries merge as a result of unstable mass transfer. Tidal disruption of the secondary forms a geometrically thick disk around the WD, which subsequently accretes at highly super-Eddington rates. Analytic estimates and numerical hydrodynamical simulations reveal that outflows from the accretion flow unbind a large fraction ≳90% of the secondary at velocities ∼500–1000 km s−1 within days of the merger. Hydrogen recombination in the expanding ejecta powers optical transient emission lasting about a month with a luminosity ≳1038 erg s−1, similar to slow classical novae and luminous red novae from ordinary stellar mergers. Over longer timescales the mass accreted by the WD undergoes hydrogen shell burning, inflating the remnant into a giant of luminosity ∼300–5000 L ⊙, effective temperature T eff ≈ 3000 K, and lifetime ∼104–105 yr. We predict that ∼103–104 Milky Way giants are CV merger products, potentially distinguishable by atypical surface abundances. We explore whether any Galactic historical slow classical novae are masquerading CV mergers by identifying four such post-nova systems with potential giant counterparts for which a CV merger origin cannot be ruled out. We address whether the historical transient CK Vul and its gaseous/dusty nebula resulted from a CV merger.

Anomalous Hydrogen Recombination Line Ratios in Ultraluminous Infrared Galaxies

We conducted systematic observations of the H i Brα (4.05 μm) and Brβ (2.63 μm) lines in 52 nearby (z < 0.3) ultraluminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs) with AKARI. Among 33 ULIRGs wherein the lines are detected, 3 galaxies show anomalous Brβ/Brα line ratios (∼1.0), which are significantly higher than those for case B (0.565). Our observations also show that ULIRGs have a tendency to exhibit higher Brβ/Brα line ratios than those observed in Galactic H ii regions. The high Brβ/Brα line ratios cannot be explained by a combination of dust extinction and case B since dust extinction reduces the ratio. We explore possible causes for the high Brβ/Brα line ratios and show that the observed ratios can be explained by a combination of an optically thick Brα line and an optically thin Brβ line. We simulated the H ii regions in ULIRGs with the Cloudy code, and our results show that the high Brβ/Brα line ratios can be explained by high-density conditions, wherein the Brα line becomes optically thick. To achieve a column density large enough to make the Brα line optically thick within a single H ii region, the gas density must be as high as n ∼ 108 cm−3. We therefore propose an ensemble of H ii regions, in each of which the Brα line is optically thick, to explain the high Brβ/Brα line ratio.

Lowest-Order Thermal Correction to the Hydrogen Recombination Cross-Section in Presence of Blackbody Radiation

In the present paper, the correction of the recombination and ionization processes of the hydrogen atom due to the thermal interaction of two charges was considered. The evaluation was based on a rigorous quantum electrodynamic (QED) approach within the framework of perturbation theory. The lowest-order radiative correction to the recombination/ionization cross-section was examined for a wide range of temperatures corresponding to laboratory and astrophysical conditions. The found thermal contribution was discussed both for specific states and for the total recombination and ionization coefficients.

Stochastic on-lattice simulation of H2 formation on interstellar grains

We realized stochastic model evaluating efficency of recombination H2 in interstellar medium based on the approach of the continious-time random walk on two-dimentional lattice. This method allows to model inhomogeneous surfaces. We estimate recombination efficiensy as a function of model parameters. The influence of uncertainty of diffusion/desorption energy ratio on molecular hydrogen recombination was considered also.

Early light curves of Type II supernovae interacting with a circumstellar disc

ABSTRACT Type II supernovae (SNe) interacting with disc-like circumstellar matter (CSM) have been suggested as an explanation of some unusual Type II SNe, e.g. the so-called impossible SN, iPTF14hls. There are some radiation hydrodynamic simulations for such SNe interacting with a CSM disc. However, such disc interaction models so far have not included the effect of the ionization and recombination processes in the SN ejecta, i.e. the fact that the photosphere of Type IIP SNe between ∼10 and ∼100 d is regulated by the hydrogen recombination front. We calculate light curves for Type IIP SNe interacting with a CSM disc viewed from the polar direction, and examine the effects of the disc density and opening angle on their bolometric light curves. This work embeds the shock interaction model of Moriya et al. within the Type IIP SN model of Kasen & Woosley, for taking into account the effects of the ionization and recombination in the SN ejecta. We demonstrate that such interacting SNe show three phases with different photometric and spectroscopic properties, following the change in the energy source: First few tens of days after explosion (phase 1), ∼10 to ∼100 d (phase 2), and days after that (phase 3). From the calculations, we conclude that such hidden CSM disc cannot account for overluminous Type IIP SNe. We find that the luminosity ratio between phase 1 and phase 2 has information on the opening angle of the CSM disc. We thus encourage early photometric and spectroscopic observations of interacting SNe for investigating their CSM geometry.