Related papers: Challenges Modeling the Low-Luminosity Type Iax Su…
Type Ia supernovae are associated with thermonuclear explosions of white dwarf stars. Combustion processes convert material in nuclear reactions and release the energy required to explode the stars. At the same time, they produce the…
The supernova remnants left behind by Type Ia supernovae provide an excellent opportunity for the study of these enigmatic objects. In a previous work, we showed that it is possible to use the X-ray spectra of young Type Ia supernova…
We introduce a low Mach number equation set for the large-scale numerical simulation of carbon-oxygen white dwarfs experiencing a thermonuclear deflagration. Since most of the interesting physics in a Type Ia supernova transpires at Mach…
We report the results of a series of three-dimensional (3-D) simulations of the deflagration phase of the gravitationally confined detonation mechanism for Type Ia supernovae. In this mechanism, ignition occurs at one or several off-center…
Planar flames are intrinsically unstable in open domains due to the thermal expansion across the burning front--the Landau-Darrieus instability. This instability leads to wrinkling and growth of the flame surface, and corresponding…
The dimmest and most numerous outlier of the Type Ia supernova population, Type Iax events, is increasingly being found in the results of observational campaigns. There is currently no single accepted model to describe these events. This 2D…
We discuss the challenges of modeling X-ray bursts in multi-dimensions, review the different calculations done to date, and discuss our new set of ongoing simulations. We also describe algorithmic improvements that may help in the future to…
A proposed setting for thermonuclear (Type Ia) supernovae is a white dwarf that has gained mass from a companion to the point of carbon ignition in the core. There is a simmering phase in the early stages of burning that involves the…
Simulating detonations in astrophysical environments is often complicated by numerical approximations to shock structure. A common prescription to ensure correct detonation speeds and associated quantities is to prohibit burning inside the…
Turbulent combustion is three-dimensional. Turbulence in a Type Ia supernova is driven on large scales by the buoyancy of burning products. The turbulent cascade penetrates down to very small scales, and makes the rate of deflagration…
Investigations of some type Iax supernovae have led to the suggestion that their ejecta must be layered to some degree. Such an ejecta structure has been argued as inconsistent with the well-mixed composition predicted by pure…
The application of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) as distance indicators in cosmology calls for a sound understanding of these objects. Recent years have seen a brisk development of astrophysical models which explain SNe Ia as thermonuclear…
Large-scale three-dimensional numerical simulations of the deflagration stage of a thermonuclear supernova explosion show the formation and evolution of a highly convoluted turbulent flame in a gravitational field of an expanding…
A Type Ia supernova explosion likely begins as a nuclear runaway near the center of a carbon-oxygen white dwarf. The outward propagating flame is unstable to the Landau-Darrieus, Rayleigh-Taylor, and Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities, which…
Our understanding of stars and their fates is based on coupling observations to theoretical models. Unlike laboratory physicists, we cannot perform experiments on stars, but rather must patiently take what nature allows us to observe.…
Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) are the largest thermonuclear explosions in the Universe. Their light output can be seen across great distances and has led to the discovery that the expansion rate of the Universe is accelerating. Despite the…
The numerical simulation of turbulence in stars has led to a rich set of possibilities regarding stellar pulsations, asteroseismology, thermonuclear yields, and formation of neutron stars and black holes. The breaking of symmetry by…
Thermonuclear supernovae are valuable for cosmology but their physics is not yet fully understood. Modeling the development and propagation of nuclear flame is complicated by numerous instabilities. The predictions of supernova light curves…
Upcoming high-cadence transient survey programmes will produce a wealth of observational data for Type Ia supernovae. These data sets will contain numerous events detected very early in their evolution, shortly after explosion. Here, we…
We present a numerical model which allows us to investigate thermonuclear flames in Type Ia supernova explosions. The model is based on a finite-volume explicit hydrodynamics solver employing PPM. Using the level-set technique combined with…