Dr. Poelarends and Four Students Publish Paper
Dr. Poelarends and four Wheaton students (Scott Wurtz, (Physics '16), James Tarka, (Physics '15), L. Cole Adams (Physics '13) and Spencer Hills (Physics '16 ) published a paper on Electron-Capture Supernovae in Close Binary Systems in the Astrophysical Journal in December, '17.
The paper presents the first detailed study of the Electron Capture Supernova Channel (ECSN Channel) for a primary star in a close binary star system. Poelarends used the MESA stellar evolution code, to explore the parameter space of a range of initial primary masses using a large grid of models. They found that the initial primary mass and the mass transfer evolution are important factors in the final fate of stars in this mass range.
The paper can be accessed at http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/aa988a
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