A moderately-sized nuclear network to assist multi-D hydrodynamic simulations of supernova explosions

TL;DR

This paper introduces net87, a nuclear network with about 100 nuclei designed for multi-dimensional supernova simulations, incorporating electron captures and implicit coupling to improve stability and accuracy.

Contribution

The paper presents a new nuclear network, net87, optimized for multi-D supernova simulations, including electron captures and implicit reaction coupling for enhanced stability.

Findings

net87 effectively models nuclear processes in supernovae

Incorporates electron and positron captures for better neutronization tracking

Demonstrates stable performance in Type Ia Supernova conditions

Abstract

A key ingredient in any numerical study of supernova explosions is the nuclear network routine that is coupled with the hydrodynamic simulation code. When these studies are performed in more than one dimension, the size of the network is severely limited by computational issues. In this work, we propose a nuclear network, net87, which is close to one hundred nuclei and could be appropriate to simulate supernova explosions in multidimensional studies. One relevant feature is that electron and positron captures on free protons and neutrons have been incorporated to the network. Such addition allows for a better track of both, the neutronized species and the gas pressure. A second important feature is that the reactions are implicitly coupled with the temperature, which enhances the stability in the nuclear statistical equilibrium (NSE) regime. Here we analyze the performance of net87 in light of both: the computational overhead of the algorithm and the outcome in terms of the released nuclear energy and produced yields in typical Type Ia Supernova conditions.