Influence of Geometry in the Delayed Detonation Model of SNIa (original) (raw)
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A three-dimensional picture of the delayed-detonation model of type Ia supernovae
Astronomy and Astrophysics, 2008
Aims. Deflagration models poorly explain the observed diversity of SNIa. Current multidimensional simulations of SNIa predict a significant amount of, so far unobserved, carbon and oxygen moving at low velocities. It has been proposed that these drawbacks can be resolved if there is a sudden jump to a detonation (delayed detonation), but these kinds of models have been explored mainly in one dimension. Here we present new three-dimensional delayed detonation models in which the deflagraton-to-detonation transition (DDT) takes place in conditions like those favored by one-dimensional models. Methods. We have used a smoothed-particle-hydrodynamics code adapted to follow all the dynamical phases of the explosion, with algorithms devised to handle subsonic as well as supersonic combustion fronts. The starting point was a centrally ignited C-O white dwarf of 1.38M ⊙ . When the average density on the flame surface reached ∼ 2 − 3 × 10 7 g cm −3 a detonation was launched. Results. The detonation wave processed more than 0.3 M ⊙ of carbon and oxygen, emptying the central regions of the ejecta of unburned fuel and raising its kinetic energy close to the fiducial 10 51 ergs expected from a healthy Type Ia supernova. The final amount of 56 Ni synthesized also was in the correct range. However, the mass of carbon and oxygen ejected is still too high. Conclusions. The three-dimensional delayed detonation models explored here show an improvement over pure deflagration models, but they still fail to coincide with basic observational constraints. However, there are many aspects of the model that are still poorly known (geometry of flame ignition, mechanism of DDT, properties of detonation waves traversing a mixture of fuel and ashes). Therefore, it will be worth pursuing its exploration to see if a good SNIa model based on the three-dimensional delayed detonation scenario can be obtained.
NUCLEOSYNTHESIS IN TWO-DIMENSIONAL DELAYED DETONATION MODELS OF TYPE Ia SUPERNOVA EXPLOSIONS
The Astrophysical Journal, 2010
For the explosion mechanism of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia), different scenarios have been suggested. In these, the propagation of the burning front through the exploding white dwarf star proceeds in different modes, and consequently imprints of the explosion model on the nucleosynthetic yields can be expected. The nucleosynthetic characteristics of various explosion mechanisms is explored based on three two-dimensional explosion simulations representing extreme cases: a pure turbulent deflagration, a delayed detonation following an approximately spherical ignition of the initial deflagration, and a delayed detonation arising from a highly asymmetric deflagration ignition. Apart from this initial condition, the deflagration stage is treated in a parameter-free approach. The detonation is initiated when the turbulent burning enters the distributed burning regime. This occurs at densities around 10 7 g cm −3-relatively low as compared to existing nucleosynthesis studies for one-dimensional spherically symmetric models. The burning in these multidimensional models is different from that in one-dimensional simulations as the detonation wave propagates both into unburned material in the high density region near the center of a white dwarf and into the low density region near the surface. Thus, the resulting yield is a mixture of different explosive burning products, from carbonburning products at low densities to complete silicon-burning products at the highest densities, as well as electron-capture products synthesized at the deflagration stage. Detailed calculations of the nucleosynthesis in all three models are presented. In contrast to the deflagration model, the delayed detonations produce a characteristic layered structure and the yields largely satisfy constraints from Galactic chemical evolution. In the asymmetric delayed detonation model, the region filled with electron capture species (e.g., 58 Ni, 54 Fe) is within a shell, showing a large offset , above the bulk of 56 Ni distribution, while species produced by the detonation are distributed more spherically.
2006
We present a detonating failed deflagration model of Type Ia supernovae. In this model, the thermonuclear explosion of a massive white dwarf follows an off-center deflagration. We conduct a survey of asymmetric ignition configurations initiated at various distances from the stellar center. In all cases studied, we find that only a small amount of stellar fuel is consumed during deflagration phase, no explosion is obtained, and the released energy is mostly wasted on expanding the progenitor. Products of the failed deflagration quickly reach the stellar surface, polluting and strongly disturbing it. These disturbances eventually evolve into small and isolated shock-dominated regions which are rich in fuel. We consider these regions as seeds capable of forming self-sustained detonations that, ultimately, result in the thermonuclear supernova explosion. Preliminary nucleosynthesis results indicate the model supernova ejecta are typically composed of about 0.1−0.25 M ⊙ of silicon group ...
The Astrophysical Journal, 2007
The explosion of a carbon-oxygen white dwarf as a Type Ia supernova is known to be sensitive to the manner in which the burning is ignited. Studies of the pre-supernova evolution suggest asymmetric, off-center ignition, and here we explore its consequences in two-and three-dimensional simulations. Compared with centrally ignited models, one-sided ignitions initially burn less and release less energy. For the distributions of ignition points studied, ignition within two hemispheres typically leads to the unbinding of the white dwarf, while ignition within a small fraction of one hemisphere does not. We also examine the spreading of the blast over the surface of the white dwarf that occurs as the first plumes of burning erupt from the star. In particular, our studies test whether the collision of strong compressional waves can trigger a detonation on the far side of the star as has been suggested by Plewa et al. (2004). The maximum temperature reached in these collisions is sensitive to how much burning and expansion has already gone on, and to the dimensionality of the calculation. Though detonations are sometimes observed in 2D models, none ever happens in the corresponding 3D calculations. Collisions between the expansion fronts of multiple bubbles also seem, in the usual case, unable to ignite a detonation. "Gravitationally confined detonation" is therefore not a robust mechanism for the explosion. Detonation may still be possible in these models however, either following a pulsation or by spontaneous detonation if the turbulent energy is high enough.
Detonating Failed Deflagration Model of Thermonuclear Supernovae I. Explosion Dynamics
We present a detonating failed deflagration model of Type Ia supernovae. In this model, the thermonuclear explosion of a massive white dwarf follows an off-center deflagration. We conduct a survey of asymmetric ignition configurations initiated at various distances from the stellar center. In all cases studied, we find that only a small amount of stellar fuel is consumed during deflagration phase, no explosion is obtained, and the released energy is mostly wasted on expanding the progenitor. Products of the failed deflagration quickly reach the stellar surface, polluting and strongly disturbing it. These disturbances eventually evolve into small and isolated shock-dominated regions that are rich in fuel. We consider these regions as seeds capable of forming self-sustained detonations that, ultimately, result in the thermonuclear super-nova explosion. Preliminary nucleosynthesis results indicate that the model supernova ejecta are typically composed of about 0:1Y0:25 M of silicon group elements and 0:9Y1:2 M of iron group elements and are essentially carbon-free. The ejecta have a composite morphology, are chemically stratified, and display a modest amount of intrinsic asymmetry. The innermost layers are slightly egg shaped with the axis ratio %1.2Y1.3 and dominated by the products of silicon burning. This central region is surrounded by a shell of silicon group elements. The outermost layers of ejecta are highly inhomogeneous and contain products of incomplete oxygen burning with only small admixture of unburned stellar material. The explosion energies are %(1:3Y1:5) ; 10 51 ergs.
The Multidimensional Structure of Detonations in Type Ia Supernovae
The Astrophysical Journal, 1996
Many current models of Type Ia supernovae involve detonations at some phase of the explosion. Experimental and computational results for detonations in terrestrial fuel-air mixtures show that multidimensional effects are critical to understanding the initiation, propagation, and quenching of real detonations. Multidimensional calculations produce structures that can lead to unsteady detonation propagation in simulations of fuel-air mixtures, in agreement with experiments. We present here the first results to demonstrate the presence of multidimensional effects in detonations in degenerate carbon-oxygen matter. Our simulations show that perturbations induce transverse waves in the carbon-burning layer that interact and create pockets of incompletely burned material. This increases the effective size of the burning region, reduces the detonation velocity, and produces a different composition distribution in the detonated material relative to those predicted by one-dimensional calculations.
Explosion Models for Thermonuclear Supernovae Resulting from Different Ignition Conditions
Springer Proceedings in Physics, 2005
We have explored in three dimensions the fate of a white dwarf of mass of 1.38M⊙ 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 simultaneous ignition of the central volume of the star to the off-center ignition in multiple scattered spots. In the former case, the possibility of a transition to a detonation when the mean density of the nuclear flame decreases to ρ ≃ 2 10 7 g.cm −3 and its consequences are discussed. In the last case, the dependence of the results as a function of the number of initial igniting spots and the chance of some of these models to evolve to the pulsating delayed detonation scenario are also outlined.
The Astrophysical Journal, 2007
We develop an improved method for tracking the nuclear flame during the deflagration phase of a Type Ia supernova, and apply it to study the variation in outcomes expected from the gravitationally confined detonation (GCD) paradigm. A simplified 3-stage burning model and a non-static ash state are integrated with an artificially thickened advection-diffusion-reaction (ADR) flame front in order to provide an accurate but highly efficient representation of the energy release and electron capture in and after the unresolvable flame. We demonstrate that both our ADR and energy release methods do not generate significant acoustic noise, as has been a problem with previous ADR-based schemes. We proceed to model aspects of the deflagration, particularly the role of buoyancy of the hot ash, and find that our methods are reasonably well-behaved with respect to numerical resolution. We show that if a detonation occurs in material swept up by the material ejected by the first rising bubble but gravitationally confined to the white dwarf (WD) surface (the GCD paradigm), the density structure of the WD at detonation is systematically correlated with the distance of the deflagration ignition point from the center of the star. Coupled to a suitably stochastic ignition process, this correlation may provide a plausible explanation for the variety of nickel masses seen in Type Ia Supernovae.
Nucleosynthesis as a result of multiple delayed detonations in type Ia supernovae
Nuclear Physics A, 2003
The explosion of a white dwarf of mass 1.36 M ⊙ has been simulated in three dimensions with the aid of a SPH code. The explosion follows the delayed detonation paradigma. In this case the deflagration-detonation transition is induced by the large corrugation of the flame front resulting from Rayleigh-Taylor instability and turbulence. The nucleosynthetic yields have been calculated, showing that some neutronized isotopes such as 54 F e or 58 Ni are not overproduced with respect to the solar system ratios. The distribution of intermediate-mass elements is also compatible with the spectra of normal SNIa. The excepcion is, however, the abundance of carbon and oxygen, which are overproduced.
Type Ia Supernovae: Burning and Detonation in the Distributed Regime
The Astrophysical Journal, 2007
A simple, semi-analytic representation is developed for nuclear burning in Type Ia supernovae in the special case where turbulent eddies completely disrupt the flame. The speed and width of the "distributed" flame front are derived. For the conditions considered, the burning front can be considered as a turbulent flame brush composed of corrugated sheets of well-mixed flames. These flames are assumed to have a quasi-steady-state structure similar to the laminar flame structure, but controlled by turbulent diffusion. Detonations cannot appear in the system as long as distributed flames are still quasi-steady-state, but this condition is violated when the distributed flame width becomes comparable to the size of largest turbulent eddies. When this happens, a transition to detonation may occur. For current best estimates of the turbulent energy, the most likely density for the transition to detonation is in the range 0.5 − 1.5 × 10 7 g cm −3 .