The Impact of Resolution on Double-Detonation Models for Type Ia Supernovae

TL;DR

This study uses 2D simulations to explore how resolution affects the double-detonation model of Type Ia supernovae, revealing that higher resolutions are crucial for capturing key explosion phases and nucleosynthesis.

Contribution

It demonstrates that higher spatial resolution in simulations is essential to accurately model the phases and nucleosynthetic outcomes of double-detonation supernovae.

Findings

Higher resolutions (>4 km) capture all explosion phases.

Finer resolution affects hot silicon mixing at the interface.

Resolution impacts nucleosynthetic yields and explosion dynamics.

Abstract

Thermonuclear supernovae are the result of the violent unbinding of a white dwarf, but the precise nature of the explosion mechanism(s) is a matter of active debate. To this end, several specific scenarios have been proposed to explain the observable traits of SNe Ia. A promising pathway is the double-detonation scenario, where a white dwarf accretes a shell of helium-rich material from a companion and a detonation in the resulting helium shell is the primary cause of the explosion. Through a set of two-dimensional grid-based simulations of this scenario we clearly distinguish three phases of evolution: external helium-rich detonation, core compressive heating, and a final core carbon burn. Though final disruption of the whole system is achieved at all resolutions, only models with minimum resolutions of 4~km and better exhibit all three phases. Particularly, core compression heating is only observed for higher resolutions, producing qualitatively different nucleosynthetic outcomes. We identify the effect of finer spatial resolution on the mixing of hot silicon at the interface between the detonating helium layer and the underlying C/O WD as a primary driver of these dynamic differences.