BIO

I am a student at Florida State University majoring in Computer Science with a minor in Chemistry. I am pursuing a position in Software Engineering upon graduation. I attended FSU International Programs in the Summer of 2023. My hometown is Woodinville, WA. I am an avid runner, skier, who loves the outdoors, and travel.

Fractal Dimension of Thermonuclear Deflagrations in Type Ia Supernovae

Abstract

Type Ia supernovae are the largest thermonuclear explosions in the universe. They are created when a white dwarf star (WD) accretes matter, usually from a companion star.  As this material accumulates on the WD surface, it may become dynamically unstable and collapse if its mass reaches a critical mass of ~1.4 solar masses.  While approaching that critical mass, theoretical models indicate stellar core compresses, thermonuclear reactions start, and convection develops transporting heat from the core to about half of the WD radius. Computational models also demonstrated that as the thermonuclear heating intensifies a small amount of mass may undergo ignition resulting in formation of a subsonic burning front known as a deflagration. Those flame fronts initially increase their size by advancing radially, but quickly become unstable as the buoyancy force due to gravity leads to additional acceleration of flame front segments more extended in radius due turbulence naturally existing in stellar interiors. This process is known as the Rayleigh-Taylor instability (RTI), in which a lighter, expanded due to burning thermonuclear ashes tries to support denser, unburned fuel against gravity. RTI results in strong deformation of the flame surface. In numerical simulations, complexity of the flame front appears increasing with the increasing numerical resolution. Because an increase in the flame surface area results in an increases of the effective flame speed, this puts in question numerical convergence of RTI computer models. This problem could be addressed if there exists a universal scaling relation between flame surface area and physical scale.

Keywords: Astrophysics, Supernovae, Computer Science, Rayleigh-Taylor, LAVAflow