Dust Growth in the Common Envelope Evolution of Binary Stars

Explore groundbreaking research on dust formation during Common Envelope (CE) evolution through numerical simulations of binary star systems involving low- and intermediate-mass thermally-pulsing Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) stars. Learn how Carbon-rich dust grains form and grow within the ejected gas during CE evolution, with the first particles emerging 1-3 years after CE onset, creating an optically thick shell at 10-20 AU that expands to 400-500 AU over 40 years. Discover how dust formation primarily occurs in unbound material, yielding 8.4E-03 Msun for low-mass AGB stars and 2.2E-02 Msun for intermediate-mass AGB stars, matching single AGB star dust production but occurring much more rapidly. Understand the implications for luminous red novae, extreme carbon stars, and "water fountains" as potential post-CE phenomena, offering new insights into stellar evolution and dust formation in binary systems.