Dust formation in common envelope binary interactions – II: 3D simulations with self-consistent dust formation

We performed numerical simulations of the common envelope (CE) interaction between two thermally-pulsing asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars of 1.7 M_⊙ and 3.7 M_⊙, and their 0.6 M_⊙ compact companion. We use tabulated equations of state to take into account recombination energy. For the first time, formation and growth of dust in the envelope is calculated explicitly, using a carbon dust nucleation network with a gas phase C/O number ratio of 2.5. By the end of the simulations, the total dust yield are ∼8.2×10^-3 M_⊙ and ∼2.2×10^-2 M_⊙ for the CE with a 1.7 M_⊙ and a 3.7 M_⊙ AGB star, respectively, close to the theoretical limit. Dust formation does not substantially lead to more mass unbinding or substantially alter the orbital evolution. The first dust grains appear as early as ∼1-3 yrs after the onset of the CE rapidly forming an optically thick shell at ∼10-20 au, growing in thickness and radius to values of ∼400-500 au by ∼40 yrs. These large objects have approximate temperatures of 400 K. While dust yields are commensurate with those of single AGB stars of comparable mass, the dust in CE ejections forms over decades as opposed to tens of thousands of years. It is likely that these rapidly evolving IR objects correspond to the post-optically-luminous tail of the lightcurve of some luminous red novae. The simulated characteristics of dusty CEs also lend further support to the idea that extreme carbon stars and the so called “water fountains" may be objects observed in the immediate aftermath of a CE event.