Numerical simulations of the convective flame in white dwarfs

Details Numerical simulations of the convective flame in white dwarfs Numerical simulations of the convective flame in white dwarfs

Mar 1993

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1993apj...406l..17l&link_type=abstract

Astrophysical Journal, Part 2 - Letters (ISSN 0004-637X), vol. 406, no. 1, p. L17-L20.

Physics

47

Massive Stars, Stellar Models, Stellar Physics, Supernovae, White Dwarf Stars, Convective Flow, Two Dimensional Models

Scientific paper

A first step toward better understanding of the mechanism driving convective flames in exploding white dwarfs is presented. The propagation of the convective flame is examined using a two-dimensional implicit hydrodynamical code. The large scales of the instability are captured by the grid while the scales that are smaller than the grid resolution are approximated by a mixing-length approximation. It is found that largescale perturbations (of order of the pressure scale height) do grow significantly during the expansion, leading to a very nonspherical burning front. The combustion rate is strongly enhanced (compared to the unperturbed case) during the first second, but later the expansion of the star suppresses the flame speed, leading to only partial incineration of the nuclear fuel. Our results imply that large-scale perturbations by themselves are not enough to explain the mechanism by which convective flames are driven, and a study of the whole spectrum of relevant perturbations is needed. The implications of these preliminary results on future simulations, in the context of current models for Type Ia supernovae, are discussed.

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