Related papers: Stability and convergence of nuclear detonations i…
We study the initiation of thermonuclear detonations in tidally disrupted white dwarf stars by intermediate-mass ($10^3 M_\odot$) black holes. The length scales required to resolve the initiation mechanism are not easily reached in…
Some simulations of Type Ia supernovae feature self-consistent thermonuclear detonations. However, these detonations are not meaningful if the simulations are not resolved, so it is important to establish the requirements for achieving a…
The physical collisions of two white dwarfs (WDs) (i.e. not slow mergers) have been shown to produce type-Ia-like supernovae (SNe) explosions. Most studies of WD collisions have focused on zero impact-parameter (direct) collisions, which…
We investigate the structure and stability against radial oscillations, pycnonuclear reactions, and inverse $\beta$-decay of hot white dwarfs. We regard that the fluid matter is made up for nucleons and electrons confined in a Wigner-Seitz…
Katz & Zingale (2019, KZ19) recently studied a one-dimensional test problem, intended to mimic the process of detonation ignition in head-on collisions of two carbon--oxygen (CO) white dwarfs. They do not obtain ignition of a detonation in…
Despite their unique astrophysical relevance, the outcome of white dwarf binary mergers has so far only been studied for a very restricted number of systems. Here we present the results of a survey with more than two hundred simulations…
In a dense star cluster core, a tidal disruption event (TDE) of a white dwarf (WD) can occur if the WD passes within the tidal radius of an intermediate-mass black hole (IMBH). Very close encounters cause extreme tidal compression in the…
Most of the leading explosion scenarios for Type Ia supernovae involve the nuclear incineration of a white dwarf star through a detonation wave. Several scenarios have been proposed as to how this detonation may actually occur, but the…
Thermonuclear supernovae are the result of the violent unbinding of a white dwarf, but the precise nature of the explosion mechanism(s) is a matter of active debate. To this end, several specific scenarios have been proposed to explain the…
We present results from general relativistic calculations of the tidal disruption of white dwarf stars from near encounters with intermediate mass black holes. We follow the evolution of 0.2 and $0.6 M_\odot$ stars on parabolic trajectories…
We study the conditions required to produce self-sustained detonations in turbulent, carbon-oxygen degenerate plasma at low densities. We perform a series of three-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations of turbulence driven with various…
One of the challenges to increasing the mass of a white dwarf through accretion is the tendency for the accumulating hydrogen to ignite unstably and potentially trigger mass loss. It has been known for many years that there is a narrow…
We systematically explore zero impact parameter collisions of white dwarfs with the Eulerian adaptive grid code FLASH for 0.64+0.64 M$_{\odot}$ and 0.81+0.81 M$_{\odot}$ mass pairings. Our models span a range of effective linear spatial…
In old, dense stellar systems collisions of white dwarfs are a rather frequent phenomenon. Here we present the results of a comprehensive set of Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics simulations of close encounters of white dwarfs aimed to…
The flame born in the deep interior of a white dwarf that becomes a Type Ia supernova is subject to several instabilities. We briefly review these instabilities and the corresponding flame acceleration. We discuss the conditions necessary…
We have explored in three dimensions the fate of a massive white dwarf as a function of different initial locations of carbon ignition, with the aid of a SPH code. The calculated models cover a variety of possibilities ranging from the…
We discuss the results of 3D simulations of tidal disruptions of white dwarfs by moderate-mass black holes as they may exist in the cores of globular clusters or dwarf galaxies. Our simulations follow self-consistently the hydrodynamic and…
Some explosion models for Type Ia supernovae (SN Ia), such as the gravitationally confined detonation (GCD) or the double detonation sub-Chandrasekhar (DDSC) models, rely on the spontaneous initiation of a detonation in the degenerate C/O…
Delayed detonation in an exploding white dwarf, which propagates from an off-center transition point, rather than from a spherical transition shell, is described and simulated. The differences between the results of 2D simulations and the…
We construct time-dependent one-dimensional (vertically averaged) models of accretion disks produced by the tidal disruption of a white dwarf (WD) by a binary neutron star (NS) companion. Nuclear reactions in the disk midplane burn the WD…