Type Ia Supernovae Can Occur in Quadruple Systems, Astronomers Suggest
Binary systems have received much attention as possible progenitors of Type Ia supernovae, but long-term gravitational effects in tight triple or quadruple systems could also play a key role in producing stellar explosion of this type. In new research, a team of astronomers from Europe and New Zealand studied properties of HD 74438, a 2+2 hierarchical stellar system within the open star cluster IC...