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A&A 419, 645-652 (2004)
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361:20035823

Helium accreting CO white dwarfs with rotation: Helium novae instead of double detonation

S.-C. Yoon and N. Langer

Astronomical Institute, Utrecht University, Princetonplein 5, 3584 CC, Utrecht, The Netherlands
(Received 9 December 2003 / Accepted 27 January 2004)

Abstract
We present evolutionary models of helium-accreting carbon-oxygen white dwarfs in which we include the effects of the spin-up of the accreting star induced by angular momentum accretion, rotationally induced chemical mixing and rotational energy dissipation. Initial masses of 0.6  and 0.8  and constant accretion rates of a few times of helium-rich matter have been considered, which is typical for the sub-Chandrasekhar mass progenitor scenario for Type Ia supernovae. It is found that the helium envelope in an accreting white dwarf is heated efficiently by friction in the differentially rotating spun-up layers. As a result, helium ignites much earlier and under much less degenerate conditions compared to the corresponding non-rotating case. Consequently, a helium detonation may be avoided, which questions the sub-Chandrasekhar mass progenitor scenario for Type Ia supernovae. We discuss implications of our results for the evolution of helium star plus white dwarf binary systems as possible progenitors of recurrent helium novae.

Key words: stars: evolution -- stars: white dwarfs -- stars: rotation -- stars: novae, cataclysmic variables -- stars: supernovae: general

Offprint request: S.-C. Yoon, s.c.Yoon@astro.uu.nl

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