Ignition of Carbon Burning from Nuclear Fission in Compact Stars

C. J. Horowitz

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1 Scopus citations

Abstract

Type Ia supernovae (SN Ia) are powerful stellar explosions that provide important distance indicators in cosmology. Recently, we proposed a new SN Ia mechanism that involves a nuclear fission chain reaction in an isolated white dwarf (WD). The first solids that form as a WD starts to freeze are actinide rich and potentially support a fission chain reaction. In this Letter, we explore thermonuclear ignition from fission heating. We perform thermal diffusion simulations and find at high densities, above about 7 × 108 g cm−3, that fission heating can ignite carbon burning. This could produce an SN Ia or another kind of astrophysical transient.

Original languageEnglish
Article numberL2
JournalAstrophysical Journal Letters
Volume935
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Aug 2022
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society.

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