Determine the stability criterion for white-dwarf mass transfer to neutron stars and black holes

Determine the critical white-dwarf donor mass and corresponding stability criterion for mass transfer from a white dwarf to a neutron star or black hole.

Background

The stability of white-dwarf transfer to a neutron star or black hole determines whether a binary undergoes stable accretion or a merger, thereby affecting compact-binary and isolated-remnant formation channels. The paper notes that published calculations span a broad range of critical donor masses, so the appropriate stability boundary remains unresolved in the population-synthesis model.

References

For WDs transferring mass to an NS or BH, the stability condition is more uncertain, with critical WD donor masses in the literature ranging from 0.2 to 1.25\,M_{\odot} \citep{He2024}.

— A Census of Stellar-mass Black Holes in the Milky Way with POPKIN. I. Isolated Black Holes  (2609.29211 - He et al., 24 Sep 2026) in Section 2.4.2, “The Stability of Mass Transfer”