1,446 research outputs found
Aerothermodynamic radiation studies
We have built and made operational a 6 in. electric arc driven shock tube which alloys us to study the non-equilibrium radiation and kinetics of low pressure (0.1 to 1 torr) gases processed by 6 to 12 km/s shock waves. The diagnostic system allows simultaneous monitoring of shock radiation temporal histories by a bank of up to six radiometers, and spectral histories with two optical multi-channel analyzers. A data set of eight shots was assembled, comprising shocks in N2 and air at pressures between 0.1 and 1 torr and velocities of 6 to 12 km/s. Spectrally resolved data was taken in both the non-equilibrium and equilibrium shock regions on all shots. The present data appear to be the first spectrally resolved shock radiation measurements in N2 performed at 12 km/s. The data base was partially analyzed with salient features identified
Nucleosynthesis in thermonuclear supernovae with tracers: convergence and variable mass particles
Nucleosynthetic yield predictions for multi-dimensional simulations of
thermonuclear supernovae generally rely on the tracer particle method to obtain
isotopic information of the ejected material for a given supernova simulation.
We investigate how many tracer particles are required to determine converged
integrated total nucleosynthetic yields. For this purpose, we conduct a
resolution study in the number of tracer particles for different hydrodynamical
explosion models at fixed spatial resolution. We perform hydrodynamic
simulations on a co-expanding Eulerian grid in two dimensions assuming
rotational symmetry for both pure deflagration and delayed detonation Type Ia
supernova explosions. Within a given explosion model, we vary the number of
tracer particles to determine the minimum needed for the method to give a
robust prediction of the integrated yields of the most abundant nuclides. For
the first time, we relax the usual assumption of constant tracer particle mass
and introduce a radially vary- ing distribution of tracer particle masses. We
find that the nucleosynthetic yields of the most abundant species (mass
fraction > 10E-5) are reasonably well predicted for a tracer number as small as
32 per axis and direction - more or less independent of the explosion model. We
conclude that the number of tracer particles that were used in extant published
works appear to have been sufficient as far as integrated yields are concerned
for the most copiously produced nuclides. Additionally we find that a suitably
chosen tracer mass distribution can improve convergence for nuclei produced in
the outer layer of the supernova where the constant tracer mass prescription
suffers from poor spatial resolution.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
On the small-scale stability of thermonuclear flames in Type Ia supernovae
We present a numerical model which allows us to investigate thermonuclear
flames in Type Ia supernova explosions. The model is based on a finite-volume
explicit hydrodynamics solver employing PPM. Using the level-set technique
combined with in-cell reconstruction and flux-splitting schemes we are able to
describe the flame in the discontinuity approximation. We apply our
implementation to flame propagation in Chandrasekhar-mass Type Ia supernova
models. In particular we concentrate on intermediate scales between the flame
width and the Gibson-scale, where the burning front is subject to the
Landau-Darrieus instability. We are able to reproduce the theoretical
prediction on the growth rates of perturbations in the linear regime and
observe the stabilization of the flame in a cellular shape. The increase of the
mean burning velocity due to the enlarged flame surface is measured. Results of
our simulation are in agreement with semianalytical studies.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures, Uses AASTEX, emulateapj5.sty, onecolfloat.sty.
Replaced with accepted version (ApJ), Figures 1 and 3 are ne
Testing the role of SNe Ia for galactic chemical evolution of p-nuclei with two-dimensional models and with s-process seeds at different metallicities
Date of Acceptance: 07/11/2014The bulk of p isotopes is created in the "gamma processes" mainly by sequences of photodisintegrations and beta decays in explosive conditions in Type Ia supernovae (SNIa) or in core collapse supernovae (ccSN). The contribution of different stellar sources to the observed distribution of p-nuclei in the solar system is still under debate. We explore single degenerate Type Ia supernovae in the framework of two-dimensional SNIa delayed-detonation explosion models. Travaglio et al. discussed the sensitivity of p-nuclei production to different SNIa models, i.e., delayed detonations of different strength, deflagrations, and the dependence on selected s-process seed distributions. Here we present a detailed study of p-process nucleosynthesis occurring in SNIa with s-process seeds at different metallicities. Based on the delayed-detonation model DDT-a of TRV11, we analyze the dependence of p-nucleosynthesis on the s-seed distribution obtained from different strengths of the 13C pocket. We also demonstrate that 208Pb seed alone changes the p-nuclei production considerably. The heavy-s seeds (140 ≤A < 208) contribute with about 30%-40% to the total light-p nuclei production up to 132Ba (with the exception of 94Mo and 130Ba, to which the heavy-s seeds contribute with about 15% only). Using a Galactic chemical evolution code from Travaglio et al., we study the contribution of SNIa to the solar stable p-nuclei. We find that explosions of Chandrasekhar-mass single degenerate systems produce a large amount of p-nuclei in our Galaxy, both in the range of light (A ≤ 120) and heavy p-nuclei, at almost flat average production factors (within a factor of about three). We discussed in details p-isotopes such as 94Mo with a behavior diverging from the average, which we attribute to uncertainties in the nuclear data or in SNIa modeling. Li et al. find that about 70% of all SNeIa are normal events. If these are explained in the framework of explosions of Chandrasekhar-mass white dwarfs resulting from the single-degenerate progenitor channel, we find that they are responsible for at least 50% of the p-nuclei abundances in the solar system.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio
Type Ia Supernova Explosion Models
Because calibrated light curves of Type Ia supernovae have become a major
tool to determine the local expansion rate of the Universe and also its
geometrical structure, considerable attention has been given to models of these
events over the past couple of years. There are good reasons to believe that
perhaps most Type Ia supernovae are the explosions of white dwarfs that have
approached the Chandrasekhar mass, M_ch ~ 1.39 M_sun, and are disrupted by
thermonuclear fusion of carbon and oxygen. However, the mechanism whereby such
accreting carbon-oxygen white dwarfs explode continues to be uncertain. Recent
progress in modeling Type Ia supernovae as well as several of the still open
questions are addressed in this review. Although the main emphasis will be on
studies of the explosion mechanism itself and on the related physical
processes, including the physics of turbulent nuclear combustion in degenerate
stars, we also discuss observational constraints.Comment: 38 pages, 4 figures, Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics, in
pres
Nonequilibrium spectral diffusion due to laser heating in stimulated photon echo spectroscopy of low temperature glasses
A quantitative theory is developed, which accounts for heating artifacts in
three-pulse photon echo (3PE) experiments. The heat diffusion equation is
solved and the average value of the temperature in the focal volume of the
laser is determined as a function of the 3PE waiting time. This temperature is
used in the framework of nonequilibrium spectral diffusion theory to calculate
the effective homogeneous linewidth of an ensemble of probe molecules embedded
in an amorphous host. The theory fits recently observed plateaus and bumps
without introducing a gap in the distribution function of flip rates of the
two-level systems or any other major modification of the standard tunneling
model.Comment: 10 pages, Revtex, 6 eps-figures, accepted for publication in Phys.
Rev.
Gamma-ray emission expected from Kepler's SNR
Nonlinear kinetic theory of cosmic ray (CR) acceleration in supernova
remnants (SNRs) is used to investigate the properties of Kepler's SNR and, in
particular, to predict the gamma-ray spectrum expected from this SNR.
Observations of the nonthermal radio and X-ray emission spectra as well as
theoretical constraints for the total supernova (SN) explosion energy E_sn are
used to constrain the astronomical and particle acceleration parameters of the
system. Under the assumption that Kepler's SN is a type Ia SN we determine for
any given explosion energy E_sn and source distance d the mass density of the
ambient interstellar medium (ISM) from a fit to the observed SNR size and
expansion speed. This makes it possible to make predictions for the expected
gamma-ray flux. Exploring the expected distance range we find that for a
typical explosion energy E_sn=10^51 erg the expected energy flux of TeV
gamma-rays varies from 2x10^{-11} to 10^{-13} erg/(cm^2 s) when the distance
changes from d=3.4 kpc to 7 kpc. In all cases the gamma-ray emission is
dominated by \pi^0-decay gamma-rays due to nuclear CRs. Therefore Kepler's SNR
represents a very promising target for instruments like H.E.S.S., CANGAROO and
GLAST. A non-detection of gamma-rays would mean that the actual source distance
is larger than 7 kpc.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures. Accepted for publication in Astronomy and
Astrophysics, minor typos correcte
Spectroscopic variability of two Oe stars
The Oe stars HD45314 and HD60848 have recently been found to exhibit very
different X-ray properties: whilst HD60848 has an X-ray spectrum and emission
level typical of most OB stars, HD45314 features a much harder and brighter
X-ray emission, making it a so-called gamma Cas analogue. Monitoring the
optical spectra could provide hints towards the origin of these very different
behaviours. We analyse a large set of spectroscopic observations of HD45314 and
HD60848, extending over 20 years. We further attempt to fit the H-alpha line
profiles of both stars with a simple model of emission line formation in a
Keplerian disk. Strong variations in the strengths of the H-alpha, H-beta, and
He I 5876 emission lines are observed for both stars. In the case of HD60848,
we find a time lag between the variations in the equivalent widths of these
lines. The emission lines are double peaked with nearly identical strengths of
the violet and red peaks. The H-alpha profile of this star can be successfully
reproduced by our model of a disk seen under an inclination of 30 degrees. In
the case of HD45314, the emission lines are highly asymmetric and display
strong line profile variations. We find a major change in behaviour between the
2002 outburst and the one observed in 2013. This concerns both the relationship
between the equivalent widths of the various lines and their morphologies at
maximum strength (double-peaked in 2002 versus single-peaked in 2013). Our
simple disk model fails to reproduce the observed H-alpha line profiles of
HD45314. Our results further support the interpretation that Oe stars do have
decretion disks similar to those of Be stars. Whilst the emission lines of
HD60848 are explained by a disk with a Keplerian velocity field, the disk of
HD45314 seems to have a significantly more complex velocity field that could be
related to the phenomenon that produces its peculiar X-ray emission.Comment: Accepted for Publication in A&
Signature of Electron Capture in Iron-Rich Ejecta of SN 2003du
Late-time near-infrared and optical spectra are presented for the
normal-bright SN2003du. At about 300 days after the explosion, the emission
profiles of well isolated [FeII] lines (in particular that of the strong
1.644mu feature) trace out the global kinematic distribution of radioactive
material in the expanding. In SN2003du, the 1.644 mu [FeII] line shows a
flat-topped, profile, indicative of a thick but hollow-centered expanding
shell, rather than a strongly-peaked profile that would be expected from a
``center-filled'' distribution.Based on detailed models for exploding
Chandrasekhar mass white dwarfs, we show that the feature is consistent with
spherical explosion models.Our model predicts central region of non-radioactive
electron-capture elements up to 2500--3000km/s as a consequence of burning
under high density, and an extended region of 56Ni up to 9,000--10,000km/s.
Furthermore our analysis indicates that the 1.644mu [FeII] profile is not
consistent with strong mixing between the regions of electron- capture isotopes
and the 56Ni layers as is predicted by detailed 3D models for nuclear
deflagration fronts. We discuss the possibility that the flat-topped profile
could be produced as a result of an infrared catastrophe and conclude that such
an explanation is unlikely. We put our results in context to other SNeIa and
briefly discuss the implications of our result for the use of SNe Ia as
cosmological standard candles.Comment: 12 pages + 8 figures, ApJ (in press, Dec. 20, 2004) For high
resolution figures send E-mail to [email protected]
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