Stellar collision

"Neutron star collision" redirects here. For the song by Muse, see Neutron Star Collision (Love Is Forever).

A stellar collision is the coming together of two stars, which through the force of gravity merge into one larger unit.[1] Astronomers predict that events of this type occur in the globular clusters of our galaxy about once every 10,000 years.[2] Scientists have only recently been able to observe a stellar merger.[3] A series of stellar collisions in a dense cluster over a short period of time can lead to an intermediate-mass black hole via "runaway stellar collisions".[4]

Astronomical bodies involved

Any star in the universe can be involved in a stellar collision; whether it is 'alive' (meaning fusion is still active in the star) or dead (with fusion no longer taking place). Examples include white dwarf stars, neutron stars, black holes, main sequence stars, giant stars, and supergiants. Differences in star types, masses, temperatures, and radii will result in different types of collisions or mergers.[2]

Types of stellar collisions and mergers

Type Ia supernova

White dwarfs are the remnants of low-mass stars and, if they form a binary system with another star, they can cause large stellar explosions known as type Ia supernova. One route by which this may happen involves a white dwarf drawing material off a main sequence or red giant star to form an accretion disc. However, when two white dwarfs orbit each other closely,[5] emission of gravitational waves causes the pair to spiral inward. When they finally merge, if their combined mass approaches or exceeds the Chandrasekhar limit, carbon fusion is ignited, raising the temperature. Since a white dwarf consists of degenerate matter, there is no safe equilibrium between thermal pressure and the weight of overlying layers of the star. Because of this, runaway fusion reactions rapidly heat up the interior of the combined star and spread, causing a supernova explosion.[5] In a matter of seconds, all of the white dwarf's mass is thrown into space.[6]

Neutron star collisions

Video showing the simulated collision of two neutron stars

Neutron star collisions occur in a fashion similar to type 1a supernovae. When two neutron stars orbit each other closely, they spiral inward as time passes. When the two neutron stars meet, their collision leads to the formation of a black hole (assuming their combined mass exceeds the Tolman–Oppenheimer–Volkoff limit). This creates a magnetic field that is trillions of times stronger than that of Earth, in a matter of one or two milliseconds. Astronomers believe that this event is what creates certain kinds of gamma-ray bursts.[7]

Thorne–Żytkow objects

If a neutron star collides with red giant of sufficiently low mass and density, both can survive in the form of a peculiar hybrid known as Thorne–Żytkow object, with a neutron star surrounded by a red giant.

Formation of planets

When two low-mass stars in a binary system merge this creates an excretion disk from which new planets can form.[8]

Discovery

While the theory of stellar collision has been around for several generations of astronomers, only the development of new technology has made it possible for it to be proven. In 1764, a cluster of stars known as Messier 30 was discovered by astronomer Charles Messier. In the twentieth century, astronomers concluded that the cluster was approximately 13 billion years old.[9] The Hubble Space Telescope resolved the individual stars of Messier 30. With this new technology, astronomers discovered that some stars, known as “blue stragglers”, appeared younger than other stars in the cluster.[9] Astronomers then hypothesized that stars may have “collided”, or “merged”, giving them more fuel so they continued fusion while fellow stars around them started going out.[9]

Stellar collisions and the Solar System

While stellar collisions may occur very frequently in certain parts of the galaxy, the likelihood of a collision involving the Sun is very small. A probability calculation predicts the rate of stellar collisions involving the Sun is 1 in 1028 years.[10] For comparison, the age of the universe is of the order 1010 years. The likelihood of close encounters with the Sun is also small. The rate is estimated as follows:

N ~ 4.2 · D2 Myr−1

where N is the number of encounters per million years that come within a radius D of the Sun in parsecs.[11] For comparison, the mean radius of the Earth's orbit, 1 AU, is 4.82 × 10−6 parsecs.

Even though our star will likely not be directly affected by such an event, the Earth may, however, be easily affected by a nearby collision. Astronomers say that if a stellar collision happens within 100 light years of the Earth, it could possibly result in Earth's destruction.[10] This is still very unlikely though because there are no stellar clusters this close to the Solar System.

References

  1. ↑ Fred Lawrence Whipple (1939), Supernovae and stellar collisions
  2. 1 2 Chang, Kenneth."Two Stars Collide; New Star is Born.", New York Times,New York, 13 June 2000.Retrieved on 14 November 2010.
  3. ↑ Tylenda, R.; Hajduk, M.; Kamiński, T.; et al. (2011-03-11). "V1309 Scorpii: merger of a contact binary". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 528 (April 2011): A114. arXiv:1012.0163Freely accessible. Bibcode:2011A&A...528A.114T. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201016221. Retrieved 2012-09-26.
  4. ↑ "A Black Hole in Orion?". Sky & Telescope. 2012-09-26. Retrieved 2012-10-06.
  5. 1 2 González Hernández, J. I.; Ruiz-Lapuente, P.; Tabernero, H. M.; Montes, D.; Canal, R.; Méndez, J.; Bedin, L. R. (2012-09-26). "No surviving evolved companions of the progenitor of SN 1006". Nature. 489 (7417): 533–536. arXiv:1210.1948Freely accessible. Bibcode:2012Natur.489..533G. doi:10.1038/nature11447. PMID 23018963. Retrieved 2012-09-26.
  6. ↑ Freedman, Roger A., Robert M. Geller, William J. Kaufmann III(2009). The Universe 9th Edition,p.543-545. W.H. Freeman and Company, New York. ISBN 1-4292-3153-X
  7. ↑ Rosswog, Stephan, "Radioactive glow as a smoking gun", Nature, USA, 29 August 2013. doi:10.1038/500535a Retrieved on 11 September 2013.
  8. ↑ A binary merger origin for inflated hot Jupiter planets, E.L. Martin, H.C. Spruit, R. Tata, 9 Sep 2011
  9. 1 2 3 "Stellar Collisions and vampirism give blue stragglers stars a 'cosmic facelift'", Asian News International, 29 December 2009
  10. 1 2 Lucentini, Jack (1 June 2000). "Researchers Claim First Proof That Stars Collide". Space.com. Archived from the original on April 19, 2004. Retrieved 2014-01-15. By one calculation, the sun is likely to have one crash per 10,000 trillion, trillion years (that’s 28 zeros), and it will burn out on its own accord much sooner than that.
  11. ↑ Garcia-Sanchez, J.; et al. (August 24, 1998), "Perturbation of the Oort Cloud by Close Stellar Approaches", Asteroid and Comet Dynamics, Tatrauska Lomnica, Slovak Republic, hdl:2014/19368

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