Thermonuclear Supernovae: Combining Astrophysical and Terrestrial Combustion

摘要

This paper describes how numerical simulations of laboratory-scale experiments can be used to learn about the physics of supernova explosions. Simulations of shock-flame interactions that occur in a laboratory shock-tube experiment are used to study relevant physical mechanisms of the transition of a deflagration to a detonation. Then simulations of the deflagration stage of a Type la thermonuclear supernovae are performed to evaluate whether a deflagration alone is enough to account for astronomical observations. The conclusion is that the deflagration model alone is inadequate energetically, so there must be a transition to a detonation.