Short Period Binary White Dwarfs: Gravitational Waves, Merger Rate, and Likely Outcomes
University of Oklahoma
The identity of Type Ia Supernovae (SNe) Progenitors is one of the key open questions
in astrophysics. Mergers of binary white dwarf stars are one of the proposed channels
for the formation of SNe Ia. We have performed a targeted survey to find merging white
dwarf systems, and we have increased the number of known merger systems by a factor
of seven. Our sample includes systems with orbital periods as short as 12 minutes,
and gravitational wave sources in the mHz frequency range. I will discuss the characteristics
of this sample, their merger rate, and likely outcomes from these mergers.