Nucleosynthetic post-processing of Type Ia supernovae with variable tracer masses

TL;DR

This paper proposes a method using variable mass tracer particles in supernova simulations to improve the resolution of nucleosynthetic yields, especially for elements formed in outer layers, and demonstrates convergence with fewer tracers.

Contribution

It introduces a variable tracer mass distribution technique that enhances spatial resolution and yield predictions in Type Ia supernova simulations.

Findings

Yields of abundant species are well predicted with as few as 32 tracers per axis.

Variable tracer masses improve convergence for isotopes formed in outer layers.

The method reduces the number of tracers needed for accurate nucleosynthesis predictions.

Abstract

The post-processing of passively advected Lagrangian tracer particles is still the most common way for obtaining detailed nucleosynthetic yield predictions of Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) hydrodynamical simulations. Historically, tracer particles of constant mass are employed. However, intermediate mass elements, such as e.g. Ne, Mg, Al, or Si, are typically synthesized in the outer layers of SNe Ia, where due to the lower initial density a constant mass tracer distribution results in poor resolution of the spatial morphology of the abundance distribution. We show how to alleviate this problem with a suitably chosen distribution of variable tracer particle masses. We also present results of the convergence of integrated nucleosynthetic yields with increasing tracer particle number. We find that the yields of the most abundant species (mass fraction > 10E-5) are reasonably well predicted for a tracer number as small as 32 per axis and direction. Convergence for isotopes produced in regions where a constant tracer mass implementation results in poor spatial resolution can be improved by suitably choosing tracers of variable mass.