Super-Chandrasekhar White Dwarfs by the Evolution of Magnetized Main-sequence Stars: New Mass Limits from STARS Simulation

Abstract

Abstract We explore the time evolution of the magnetized main-sequence stars (MSs) to magnetized nonrotating white dwarfs (WDs) with a series of models, capturing a modified Hertzsprung–Russell diagram. We use the Cambridge Stellar Evolution Code, STARS, with modifications by introducing magnetic effects and cooling. We investigate the possible existence of stable, magnetized, massive, super-Chandrasekhar, approximately spherical WDs, away from Chandrasekhar’s mass–radius curve. These we refer to as B-WDs. They are inferred from the observations of peculiar overluminous Type Ia supernovae, e.g., SN 2003fg. We show that the classical effects of magnetic fields significantly impact MSs and their time evolution to WDs. Moreover, the magnetic field could be decisive in explaining the unusually large radius observed in some sub-Chandrasekhar WDs, e.g., SDSS J123204.19+522548.2, along with the finite temperature effect. We further investigate the stability of magnetized WDs, both below and above the Chandrasekhar limit, and confirm the possibility of super-Chandrasekhar B-WDs with new mass limits that depend on the magnetic field geometry, mass accretion from a companion, and cooling rates. Therefore, while the “Chandrasekhar limit” may be sacrosanct, its value greatly depends on the underlying physics, here the magnetic field.