Towards a Unified Picture of Compact Binary Formation and Evolution
Lorne Nelson
Bishop's University
Compact binaries comprise a wide variety of exotic systems that
typically have short orbital periods and usually have experienced one
or more episodes of mass transfer. The progenitors of these binaries
and the channels through which they form have only been partially
enumerated and obtaining the correct present-day populations has been
very challenging. I will review some of the inter-relationships
between the various types of systems and present the results of an
extensive population synthesis study on the ensemble properties of
present-day Cataclysmic Variables. Synthesizing the correct
population of CVs (e.g., classical novae, supersoft X-ray sources)
is absolutely required since they are the most important calibration
standard for the formation of "higher order" binaries (e.g., ULXs,
double neutron stars). Finally I will discuss the implications of
our results for the formation of ultracompact binaries (periods < 1
hour) and the Type Ia supernova progenitor problem.
Date: | Thursday, 11 November 2010 |
Time: | 11:30 |
Where: | Université de Montréal |
| Pavillon Roger-Gaudry, Local D-460 |
Contact: | Pierre Bergeron |
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