Residual Carbon in Oxygen-Neon White Dwarfs and its Implications for Accretion-Induced Collapse

Abstract

We explore the effects of the residual $\mathrm{^{12}C}$ present in oxygen-neon white dwarfs (ONe WDs) on their evolution towards accretion-induced collapse (AIC). We produce a set of ONe WD models using MESA and illustrate how the amount and location of the residual carbon depends on the initial mass of the star and assumptions about rotation and convective overshooting. We find a wide range of possible $\mathrm{^{12}C}$ mass fractions roughly ranging from 0.1 to 10 per cent. Convection and thermohaline mixing that occurs as the ONe WDs cool leads to nearly homogeneous interior compositions by the time that AIC would occur. We evolve these ONe WD models and some toy WD models towards AIC and find that regardless of the carbon fraction, the occurrence of Urca-process cooling due to $\mathrm{^{23}Na}$ implies that the models are unlikely to reach carbon ignition before electron captures on $\mathrm{^{24}Mg}$ occur. Difficulties associated with modeling electron-capture-driven convective regions in these ONe WDs prevent us from evolving our MESA models all the way to thermonuclear oxygen ignition and the onset of collapse. Thus, firm conclusions about the effect of carbon on the final fates of these objects await improved modeling. However, it is clear that the inclusion of residual carbon can shift the evolution from that previously described in the literature and should be included in future models.