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Issue A&A Volume 386, Number 3, May II 2002 Page(s) 936 - 943 Section Formation, structure and evolution of stars DOI 10.1051/0004-6361:20020323

A&A 386, 936-943 (2002)
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361:20020323

Refined numerical models for multidimensional type Ia supernova simulations

M. Reinecke, W. Hillebrandt and J. C. Niemeyer

Max-Planck-Institut für Astrophysik, Karl-Schwarzschild-Str. 1, 85741 Garching, Germany

(Received 15 October 2001 / Accepted 28 February 2002)

Abstract
Following up on earlier work on this topic (Reinecke et al. 1999), we present an improved set of numerical models for simulations of white dwarfs exploding as type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia). Two-dimensional simulations were used to test the reliability and numerical robustness of these algorithms; the results indicate that integral quantities like the total energy release are insensitive to changes of the grid resolution (above a certain threshold), which was not the case for our former code. The models were further enhanced to allow fully three-dimensional simulations of SNe Ia. A direct comparison of a 2D and a 3D calculation with identical initial conditions shows that the explosion is considerably more energetic in three dimensions; this is most likely caused by the assumption of axisymmetry in 2D, which inhibits the growth of flame instabilities in the azimuthal direction and thereby decreases the flame surface.

Key words: supernovae: general -- hydrodynamics -- turbulence -- nuclear reactions, nucleosynthesis, abundances -- methods: numerical

Offprint request: M. Reinecke, martin@mpa-garching.mpg.de

© ESO 2002

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