Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2004-05-07
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
11 pages, 4 figures, some figures degraded to reduce size. Submitted to Astrophysical Journal Letters
Scientific paper
We present the first high-resolution three-dimensional simulations of the deflagration phase of Type Ia supernovae that treat the entire massive white dwarf. We report the results of simulations in which ignition of the nuclear burning occurs slightly off-center. The subsequent evolution of the nuclear burning is surprisingly asymmetric with a growing bubble of hot ash rapidly rising to the stellar surface. Upon reaching the surface, the mass of burned material is $\approx 0.075 M_\sun$ and the kinetic energy is $4.3 \times 10^{49}$ ergs. The velocity of the top of the rising bubble approaches 8000 km s$^{-1}$. The amount of the asymmetry found in the model offers a natural explanation for the observed diversity in Type Ia supernovae. Our study strongly disfavors the classic central-ignition pure deflagration scenario by showing that the result is highly sensitive to details of the initial conditions.
Calder Alan C.
Lamb Don Q.
Plewa Tomasz
Truran Jame. W.
Vladimirova Natalia
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