27 research outputs found
Advances in Multi-Dimensional Simulation of Core-Collapse Supernovae
We discuss recent advances in the radiative-hydrodynamic modeling of core
collapse supernovae in multi-dimensions. A number of earlier attempts at fully
radiation-hydrodynamic models utilized either the grey approximation to
describe the neutrino distribution or utilized more sophisticated multigroup
transport methods restricted to radial rays. In both cases these models have
also neglected the O(v/c) terms that couple the radiation and matter strongly
in the optically thick regions of the collapsed core. In this paper we present
some recent advances that resolve some shortcomings of earlier models.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figures; to appear in proceedings of "Open Issues in
Core-Collapse Supernovae," which was held at the National Institute for
Nuclear Theory, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA, June 200
A Systematic Study of Explosions in Core Collapse Supernovae
This report covers the research conducted from September 1996 to August 1997 (eighteen months into the three year grant). We have obtained a number of significant findings based on the on the work that we have conducted under this grant during the past year. As we stated in our original proposal the work has focused on multi-dimensional models of the convective epoch in core collapse supernovae. During the past year we have developed a large number of models of the convective epoch in 2-D under two levels of neutrino transport approximation and we are currently working on 3-D models. In the following pages will endeavor to give brief descriptions of our results
White Dwarf Mergers on Adaptive Meshes I. Methodology and Code Verification
The Type Ia supernova progenitor problem is one of the most perplexing and
exciting problems in astrophysics, requiring detailed numerical modeling to
complement observations of these explosions. One possible progenitor that has
merited recent theoretical attention is the white dwarf merger scenario, which
has the potential to naturally explain many of the observed characteristics of
Type Ia supernovae. To date there have been relatively few self-consistent
simulations of merging white dwarf systems using mesh-based hydrodynamics. This
is the first paper in a series describing simulations of these systems using a
hydrodynamics code with adaptive mesh refinement. In this paper we describe our
numerical methodology and discuss our implementation in the compressible
hydrodynamics code CASTRO, which solves the Euler equations, and the Poisson
equation for self-gravity, and couples the gravitational and rotation forces to
the hydrodynamics. Standard techniques for coupling gravitation and rotation
forces to the hydrodynamics do not adequately conserve the total energy of the
system for our problem, but recent advances in the literature allow progress
and we discuss our implementation here. We present a set of test problems
demonstrating the extent to which our software sufficiently models a system
where large amounts of mass are advected on the computational domain over long
timescales. Future papers in this series will describe our treatment of the
initial conditions of these systems and will examine the early phases of the
merger to determine its viability for triggering a thermonuclear detonation.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa
Numerical Models of Binary Neutron Star System Mergers. I.: Numerical Methods and Equilibrium Data for Newtonian Models
The numerical modeling of binary neutron star mergers has become a subject of
much interest in recent years. While a full and accurate model of this
phenomenon would require the evolution of the equations of relativistic
hydrodynamics along with the Einstein field equations, a qualitative study of
the early stages on inspiral can be accomplished by either Newtonian or
post-Newtonian models, which are more tractable. In this paper we offer a
comparison of results from both rotating and non-rotating (inertial) frame
Newtonian calculations. We find that the rotating frame calculations offer
significantly improved accuracy as compared with the inertial frame models.
Furthermore, we show that inertial frame models exhibit significant and
erroneous angular momentum loss during the simulations that leads to an
unphysical inspiral of the two neutron stars. We also examine the dependence of
the models on initial conditions by considering initial configurations that
consist of spherical neutron stars as well as stars that are in equilibrium and
which are tidally distorted. We compare our models those of Rasio & Shapiro
(1992,1994a) and New & Tohline (1997). Finally, we investigate the use of the
isolated star approximation for the construction of initial data.Comment: 32 pages, 19 gif figures, manuscript with postscript figures
available at http://www.astro.sunysb.edu/dswesty/docs/nspap1.p