Hypersonic collision of a blast wave on a low-mass star

Abstract

When a neutron star is born as a result of the accretion-induced collapse (AIC) of a white dwarf, a small but signi_cant fraction of its mass can be simultaneously expelled at a velocity of around 104 kms −1. In this paper we study the collision between the gas ejected during the AIC of a white dwarf and a 0.3 M_ mainsequence star by using numerical simulation techniques. We found that, for a plausible combination of the orbital parameters and impact energy, the low-mass star is completely destroyed. This scenario can help to explain the origin of isolated millisecond pulsars.