White Dwarf + Hydrogen Gas: Can It Revive Fusion?

[El Nexus]

I've been thinking about what might happen if a white dwarf came across a fresh source of hydrogen. Suppose a white dwarf were to enter a cloud of hydrogen gas like the ones that stars are born from. Could it scoop up enough material for nuclear fusion to start again? Is there any evidence for such "zombie" stars (maybe some that are heavier and denser than they have any real business being)?

 

[mathman]

Most likely it would accrete the material until it reached the point where it would go supernova. Similar phenomenum has been described, where a white dwarf has a red giant as a companion and swallows material from the giant.

 

[ray b]

Most likely it would accrete the material until it reached the point where it would go supernova. Similar phenomenum has been described, where a white dwarf has a red giant as a companion and swallows material from the giant.

that a plain old nova no thing super about it
just a star flaring up, not blowing up
in the giant as a companion case it is a repeteable case
unlike a true supernova that is one time only