A stellar quadruple as a possible progenitor of SNIa

Type Ia supernovæ (SN Ia) are one of the most energetic events in the Universe produced by processes occurring in tight binaries including at least one CO white dwarf (WD). But the origin of such binaries could emerge from the dynamical evolution of high-multiplicity stellar systems such as the young spectroscopic quadruple HD 74438, recently detected in the Gaia-ESO Survey (Merle et al. 2017). Follow-up spectroscopic observations in South Africa and New-Zealand as well as the use of Gaia astrometry and photometry allow us to characterize its orbital and astrophysical parameters. Modelling the dynamical evolution of stellar quadruples shows that such systems can produce WD mergers, possible progenitors of SN Ia. Here we present some highlights with the full details provided through our Nature Astronomy letter (Merle et al. 2022, view-only access at https://rdcu.be/cNqC2).