Speaker
Mattia Bulla
Description
Among the possible outcomes predicted for double white-dwarf
binaries, Type Ia
supernovae are perhaps the best studied ones. Although the
widely accepted picture
for these events involves the thermonuclear explosion of a
carbon-oxygen white dwarf
in a binary system, we are still left with the embarrassing
question about the nature of
the companion star. In my talk, I will review recent
observational evidences
suggesting how some - if not all - Type Ia supernovae might
stem from the merger of
double white-dwarf binaries.
