Tidal effects in twin-degenerate binaries
Open Access
- 1 April 1984
- journal article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
- Vol. 207 (3) , 433-443
- https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/207.3.433
Abstract
The tidal velocity field is calculated for an initially non-rotating low mass white dwarf secondary in a twin-degenerate binary. These motions are used to find the tidal torque on the secondary, to first order in the orbital frequency, and an expression is derived for the synchronization time. For a lobe-filling secondary the synchronization time has a weak dependence on the mass and luminosity of the star, and for the binary G61 – 29 is found to be of the same order as the estimated lifetime of the system. It is emphasized, however, that tidal excitation of non-radial oscillatory modes in the secondary may significantly shorten the synchronization time.Keywords
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