A Subgrid-scale Model for Deflagration-to-Detonation Transitions in Type Ia Supernova Explosion Simulations - Numerical implementation

A promising model for normal Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) explosions are delayed detonations of Chandrasekhar-mass white dwarfs, in which the burning starts out as a subsonic deflagration and turns at a later phase of the explosion into a supersonic detonation. The mechanism of the underlying deflagration-to-detonation transition (DDT) is unknown in detail, but necessary conditions have been determined recently. The region of detonation initiation cannot be spatially resolved in multi-dimensional full-star simulations of the explosion. We develop a subgrid-scale (SGS) model for DDTs in thermonuclear supernova simulations that is consistent with the currently known constraints. The probability for a DDT to occur is calculated from the distribution of turbulent velocities measured on the grid scale in the vicinity of the flame and the fractal flame surface area that satisfies further physical constraints, such as fuel fraction and fuel density. The implementation of our DDT criterion provides a solid basis for simulations of thermonuclear supernova explosions in the delayed detonation scenario. It accounts for the currently known necessary conditions for the transition and avoids the inclusion of resolution-dependent quantities in the model. The functionality of our DDT criterion is demonstrated on the example of one three-dimensional thermonuclear supernova explosion simulation.Comment: accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysic

The light curve of SN 1987A revisited: constraining production masses of radioactive nuclides

We revisit the evidence for the contribution of the long-lived radioactive nuclides 44Ti, 55Fe, 56Co, 57Co, and 60Co to the UVOIR light curve of SN 1987A. We show that the V-band luminosity constitutes a roughly constant fraction of the bolometric luminosity between 900 and 1900 days, and we obtain an approximate bolometric light curve out to 4334 days by scaling the late time V-band data by a constant factor where no bolometric light curve data is available. Considering the five most relevant decay chains starting at 44Ti, 55Co, 56Ni, 57Ni, and 60Co, we perform a least squares fit to the constructed composite bolometric light curve. For the nickel isotopes, we obtain best fit values of M(56Ni) = (7.1 +- 0.3) x 10^{-2} Msun and M(57Ni) = (4.1 +- 1.8) x 10^{-3} Msun. Our best fit 44Ti mass is M(44Ti) = (0.55 +- 0.17) x 10^{-4} Msun, which is in disagreement with the much higher (3.1 +- 0.8) x 10^{-4} Msun recently derived from INTEGRAL observations. The associated uncertainties far exceed the best fit values for 55Co and 60Co and, as a result, we only give upper limits on the production masses of M(55Co) < 7.2 x 10^{-3} Msun and M(60Co) < 1.7 x 10^{-4} Msun. Furthermore, we find that the leptonic channels in the decay of 57Co (internal conversion and Auger electrons) are a significant contribution and constitute up to 15.5% of the total luminosity. Consideration of the kinetic energy of these electrons is essential in lowering our best fit nickel isotope production ratio to [57Ni/56Ni]=2.5+-1.1, which is still somewhat high but is in agreement with gamma-ray observations and model predictions.Comment: 7 pages, 6 pages, 2 table

[Fe XIV] and [Fe XI] reveal the forward shock in SNR 1E0102.2-7219

Aims. We study the forward shock in the oxygen-rich young supernova remnant (SNR) 1E0102.2-7219 (1E0102 in short) via optical coronal emission from [Fe XIV] and [Fe XI]: emission lines which offer an alternative method to X-rays to do so. Methods. We have used the Multi-Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) optical integral field spectrograph at the Very Large Telescope (VLT) on Cerro Paranal to obtain deep observations of SNR 1E0102 in the Small Magellanic Cloud. Our observations cover the entire extent of the remnant with a seeing limited spatial resolution of 0.7" = 0.2 pc at the distance of 1E 0102. Results. Our MUSE observations unambiguously reveal the presence of [Fe XIV] and [Fe XI] emission in 1E0102. The emission largely arises from a thin, partial ring of filaments surrounding the fast moving O-rich ejecta in the system. The brightest [Fe XIV] and [Fe XI] emission is found along the eastern and north-western sides of 1E0102, where shocks are driven into denser ISM material, while fainter emission along the northern edge reveals the location of the forward shock in lower density gas, possibly the relic stellar wind cavity. Modeling of the eastern shocks and the photoionization precursor surrounding 1E0102, we derive a pre-shock density $n_H$ = (7.4 +-1.5) cm$^{-3}$, and a shock velocity 330 km/s < $v_s$ < 350 km/s.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publications in A&A as a Letter to the Edito

Proton-Rich Nuclear Statistical Equilibrium

Proton-rich material in a state of nuclear statistical equilibrium (NSE) is one of the least studied regimes of nucleosynthesis. One reason for this is that after hydrogen burning, stellar evolution proceeds at conditions of equal number of neutrons and protons or at a slight degree of neutron-richness. Proton-rich nucleosynthesis in stars tends to occur only when hydrogen-rich material that accretes onto a white dwarf or neutron star explodes, or when neutrino interactions in the winds from a nascent proto-neutron star or collapsar-disk drive the matter proton-rich prior to or during the nucleosynthesis. In this paper we solve the NSE equations for a range of proton-rich thermodynamic conditions. We show that cold proton-rich NSE is qualitatively different from neutron-rich NSE. Instead of being dominated by the Fe-peak nuclei with the largest binding energy per nucleon that have a proton to nucleon ratio close to the prescribed electron fraction, NSE for proton-rich material near freeze-out temperature is mainly composed of Ni56 and free protons. Previous results of nuclear reaction network calculations rely on this non-intuitive high proton abundance, which this paper will explain. We show how the differences and especially the large fraction of free protons arises from the minimization of the free energy as a result of a delicate competition between the entropy and the nuclear binding energy.Comment: 4 pages, 7 figure

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

Deflagrations in hybrid CONe white dwarfs: a route to explain the faint Type Iax supernova 2008ha

Stellar evolution models predict the existence of hybrid white dwarfs (WDs) with a carbon-oxygen core surrounded by an oxygen-neon mantle. Being born with masses ~1.1 Msun, hybrid WDs in a binary system may easily approach the Chandrasekhar mass (MCh) by accretion and give rise to a thermonuclear explosion. Here, we investigate an off-centre deflagration in a near-MCh hybrid WD under the assumption that nuclear burning only occurs in carbon-rich material. Performing hydrodynamics simulations of the explosion and detailed nucleosynthesis post-processing calculations, we find that only 0.014 Msun of material is ejected while the remainder of the mass stays bound. The ejecta consist predominantly of iron-group elements, O, C, Si and S. We also calculate synthetic observables for our model and find reasonable agreement with the faint Type Iax SN 2008ha. This shows for the first time that deflagrations in near-MCh WDs can in principle explain the observed diversity of Type Iax supernovae. Leaving behind a near-MCh bound remnant opens the possibility for recurrent explosions or a subsequent accretion-induced collapse in faint Type Iax SNe, if further accretion episodes occur. From binary population synthesis calculations, we find the rate of hybrid WDs approaching MCh to be on the order of 1 percent of the Galactic SN Ia rate.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures, 2 tables, accepted for publication in MNRA

LIN 358: A symbiotic binary accreting above the steady hydrogen fusion limit

Symbiotic binaries are long period interacting binaries consisting of a white dwarf (WD) accreting material from a cool evolved giant star via stellar winds. In this paper we study the symbiotic binary LIN 358 located in the SMC. We have observed LIN 358 with the integral field spectrograph WiFeS and obtained its line emission spectrum. With the help of the plasma simulation and spectral synthesis code Cloudy, we have constructed a 2D photo-ionisation model of LIN 358. From comparison with the observations, we have determined the colour temperature of the WD in LIN 358 to be 19 eV, its bolometric luminosity $L = (1.02 \pm 0.15) \times 10^{38}$ erg s$^{-1}$, and the mass-loss rate from the donor star to be $1.2 \times 10^{-6}$ M$_{\odot}$ yr$^{-1}$. Assuming a solar H to He ratio in the wind material, a lower limit to the accreted mass fraction in LIN 358 is 0.31. The high mass-accretion efficiency of a wind Roche lobe overflow implies that the WD is accreting above the upper boundary of stable hydrogen fusion and thus growing in mass with the maximal rate of $\approx 4 \times 10^{-7}$ M$_{\odot}$ yr$^{-1}$. This causes the WD photosphere to expand, which explains its low colour temperature. Our calculations show that the circumstellar material in LIN 358 is nearly completely ionized except for a narrow cone around the donor star, and that the WD emission is freely escaping the system. However, due to its low colour temperature, this emission can be easily attenuated by even moderate amounts of neutral ISM. We speculate that other symbiotic systems may be operating in a similar regime, thus explaining the paucity of observed systems.Comment: 14 pages, 13 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRA