Revealing Double White Dwarf Mergers with Multi-messenger Signals

Abstract

A significant number of double white dwarfs (DWDs) are believed to merge within the Hubble time due to the gravitational wave (GW) emission during their inspiraling phase. The outcome of a DWD system is either a type Ia Supernova as the double-degenerate model, or a massive, long-lasting merger remnant. Expected multi-messenger signals of these events will help us to distinguish detailed merging physical processes. In this work, we aim to provide a generic scenario of DWD merging, investigate the emission of all major messengers, with a focus on GWs and neutrinos. Our goal is to provide some guidance for current and future (collaborative) efforts of multi-messenger observations. Throughout the merging evolution of a DWD system, different messengers (GW, neutrino and electromagnetic wave) will dominate at different times. In this work, we show that DWD merger events located at the distance of 1 kpc can indeed produce detectable signals of GWs and neutrinos. The GW frequency are in 0.8-1.8 Hz band around 10 days before tidal disruption begin. We estimate that in optimistic situations, the neutrino number detected by upcoming detectors such as JUNO and Hyper-Kamiokande can reach O(1) for a DWD merging event at ∽1 kpc.