A new reduced network to simulate detonations in superbursts from mixed H/He accretors

¹ Institut d'Astronomie et d'Astrophysique, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Campus plaine CP 226, Boulevard du Triomphe, 1050 Bruxelles, Belgium e-mail: cnoel@ulb.ac.be
² Département de Mécanique, Université catholique de Louvain, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium

Received: 18 September 2007
Accepted: 4 February 2000

Abstract

Aims. We construct a new reduced nuclear reaction network able to reproduce the energy production due to the photo-disintegration of heavy elements such as Ru, which are believed to occur during superbursts in mixed H/He accreting systems. We use this network to simulate a detonation propagation, inside a mixture of C/Ru.

Methods. As our reference, we use a full nuclear reaction network, including 14 758 reactions on 1381 nuclides. Until the reduced and full networks converge to a good level of accuracy in the energy production rate, we iterate between the hydrodynamical simulation, with a given reduced network, and the readjustment of a new reduced network, on the basis of previously derived hydrodynamical profiles.

Results. We obtain the thermodynamic state of the material after the passage of the detonation, and the final products of the combustion. Interestingly, we find that all reaction lengths can be resolved in the same simulation. This will enable C/Ru detonations to be more easily studied in future multi-dimensional simulations, than pure carbon ones. We underline the dependence of the combustion products on the initial mass fraction of Ru. In some cases, a large fraction of heavy nuclei, such as Mo, remains after the passage of the detonation front. In other cases, the ashes are principally composed of iron group elements.