Thieving dwarves cause supernovae

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   Researchers have come up with a theory for how stars can end in a spectacular so-called Type Ia supernova in less than 100 million years.
   
   While such early-stage supernovae are well-known, theory has been unable to explain them.
   
   The secret, the researchers say, is that white dwarf stars steal mass from nearby "helium stars" until they have enough mass to initiate a supernova.
   
   The research appears in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
   
   The new theory concerns white dwarf stars, the dense remains of stars like the Sun that have fused their hydrogen into helium and then the helium into carbon and oxygen.
   
   Existing theory held that these carbon/oxygen white dwarves can gather up further mass from nearby companion stars.
   
   When they reach a critical mass, about 40% more than the Sun, they can undergo further fusion. In just a few seconds, the white dwarf's carbon is fused into heavier elements in a runaway process that releases huge amounts of energy into the cosmos: a supernova.

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