Common Envelope Evolution: Too stochastic to be deterministic

Noam Soker

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arXiv · 2609.37718

Common Envelope Evolution: Too stochastic to be deterministic

Noam Soker

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Abstract

I argue for significant stochastic behavior in the common envelope evolution (CEE) of cool giants and main-sequence companions to the degree that it is almost impossible to know the exact CEE outcome of an individual binary system from the average properties of the stars and their initial orbit. I start with two observational properties of post-CEE planetary nebulae: many have jet-shaped morphologies, and they show a wide variety of morphologies. The first suggests that the standard CEE model should include jets, and the second shows that the CEE has a wide variety of evolutionary routes; for example, jets can be launched before, during, and/or after the main CEE phase. I show that the properties of the disk with which the main-sequence companion enters the CEE depend sensitively and stochastically on the pulsations and convection of the giant star. Pulsations and giant-envelope convection stochastically determine the evolution of the accretion disk inside the envelope. The stochastic nature of the accretion disk properties implies that jet power is also stochastic. Adopting the view that jets play a major role in CEE outcomes, I conclude that the CEE outcome is stochastic. I conclude that the CEE efficiency parameter alpha(CE) has little merit for individual systems, although it still has meaning in population synthesis and other studies of large populations.

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Noam Soker. 2026-09-29. Common Envelope Evolution: Too stochastic to be deterministic. https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.37718

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