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M. C. R. D'Souza, P. M. Motl, J. E. Tohline, J. Frank (Louisiana State University)
We present results from numerical simulations that follow the nonlinear development of mass-transfer instabilities in close binary star systems. A self-consistent-field (SCF) technique is used to construct initial equilibrium models, which are synchronously rotating, semi-detached, polytropic stars on circular orbits. These models are evolved with an Eulerian, finite-difference hydrodynamics code in a fully self-consistent manner. Results are presented for binary systems having a wide range of initial conditions; emphasis is placed on systems in which the mass-transfer stream directly impacts the surface of the accreting star. Some systems are dynamically unstable and result in a merger; others approach a long-term, stable phase of mass transfer. The time-evolutionary behavior of the binary separation, mass transfer rate, spin angular momentum of the accretor, and gravitational wave strain are presented.
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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 36 5
© 2004. The American Astronomical Society.