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My stellar physics isn't strong either, but my understanding of stellar evolution is that stars with less than 1.4 solar masses after they have collapsed at the end of their lives and thus have lost solar mass to atmospheric ejections, etc can become white dwarfs.
Those above that cannot become a white dwarf unless they are rotating version (I'm not entirely sure of the physics of this aspect). White dwarf stars that have more than 1.4 solar masses after collapsing and ejecting material etc, are not possible (Chandrasekhar limit). I believe stars up to 8 solar masses pre collapse are under this limit, as the material at their core is not sufficient to be burnt and it's only the solar mass left after all fusionable materials have been burnt that really counts.
Anything above 8 solar masses is doomed to become a supernova, and eventually a neutron star or black hole, depending upon the original solar mass.
That's my basic understanding of it all.
2 solar masses (merged) wouldn't be sufficient to cause a supernova. More likely, the larger of the 2 would win out (due to gravity/mass relations) and draw material from the smaller of the 2 stars, probably stripping the 2nd star to the point where it becomes a white dwarf.
Dave
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