Low Mach Number Modeling of Convection in Helium Shells on Sub-Chandrasekhar White Dwarfs II: Bulk Properties of Simple Models

Abstract

The dynamics of helium shell convection driven by nuclear burning establish the conditions for runaway in the sub-Chandrasekhar mass, double detonation model for Type Ia supernovae, as well as for a variety of other explosive phenomena. We explore these convection dynamics for a range of white dwarf core and helium shell masses in three dimensions using the low Mach number hydrodynamics code Maestro. We present calculations of the bulk properties of this evolution, including time-series evolution of global diagnostics, lateral averages of the 3D state, and the global 3D state. We find a variety of outcomes including quasi-equilibrium, localized runaway, and nova-like runaway. Our results suggest the double detonation progenitor model is promising, that 3D, dynamic convection plays a key role, and that these systems warrant further study.

23 pages, 18 figures, 2 tables, accepted in ApJ

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Cited by in corpus (13)

• Explosive Nucleosynthesis in Sub-Chandrasekhar Mass White Dwarf Models for Type Ia Supernovae: Dependence on Model Parameters
• SNe Ia from double detonations: Impact of core-shell mixing on the carbon ignition mechanism
• Calibrating Core Overshooting Parameters With Two-dimensional Hydrodynamical Simulations
• MAESTROeX: A Massively Parallel Low Mach Number Astrophysical Solver
• Electron Captures on ${}^{14}\mathrm{N}$ as a Trigger for Helium Shell Detonations
• Meeting the Challenges of Modeling Astrophysical Thermonuclear Explosions: Castro, Maestro, and the AMReX Astrophysics Suite
• Dynamical He Flashes in Double White Dwarf Binaries
• Exploration of Aspherical Ejecta Properties in Type Ia Supernova: Progenitor Dependence and Applications to Progenitor Classification
• Thermal convection in rotating spherical shells: temperature-dependent internal heat generation using the example of triple-$\alpha$ burning in neutron stars
• Confronting double-detonation sub-Chandrasekhar models with the low-luminosity suppression of Type Ia supernovae
• Thermonuclear (Type Ia) Supernovae and Progenitor Evolution
• Off-centre ignition of sub-Chandrasekhar white dwarfs does not resolve the tension with the observed $t_0$-$M_{\mathrm{Ni}56}$ relation of type Ia supernovae
• Modelling low Mach number stellar hydrodynamics with MAESTROeX