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Combustion in Thermonuclear Supernova Explosions

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Handbook of Supernovae

Abstract

Type Ia supernovae are associated with thermonuclear explosions of white dwarf stars. Combustion processes convert material in nuclear reactions and release the energy required to explode the stars. At the same time, they produce the radioactive species that power radiation and give rise to the formation of the observables. Therefore, the physical mechanism of the combustion processes, as reviewed here, is the key to understand these astrophysical events.

Theory establishes two distinct modes of propagation for combustion fronts: subsonic deflagrations and supersonic detonations. Both are assumed to play an important role in thermonuclear supernovae. The physical nature and theoretical models of deflagrations and detonations are discussed together with numerical implementations. A particular challenge arises due to the wide range of spatial scales involved in these phenomena. Neither the combustion waves nor their interaction with fluid flow and instabilities can be directly resolved in simulations. Substantial modeling effort is required to consistently capture such effects, and the corresponding techniques are discussed in detail. They form the basis of modern multidimensional hydrodynamical simulations of thermonuclear supernova explosions. The problem of deflagration-to-detonation transitions in thermonuclear supernova explosions is briefly mentioned.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Munich Institute for Astro- and Particle Physics (MIAPP) of the DFG cluster of excellence “Origin and Structure of the Universe.” In particular, participation in the MIAPP workshop “The physics of supernovae,” where this article was initiated, is gratefully acknowledged. The work of FKR is supported by the Klaus-Tschira Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies, Heidelberg, Germany

    Friedrich K. Röpke

  2. Zentrum für Astronomie der Universität Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany

    Friedrich K. Röpke

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  1. Friedrich K. Röpke
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Correspondence to Friedrich K. Röpke .

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  1. University College London Observatory, University College London, London, United Kingdom

    Athem W. Alsabti

  2. Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom

    Paul Murdin

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Röpke, F.K. (2017). Combustion in Thermonuclear Supernova Explosions. In: Alsabti, A., Murdin, P. (eds) Handbook of Supernovae. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-21846-5_58

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