AST-0709181/AST-0707704/AST-0708873/AST-0708855 Kohkhlov/Baron/Wang/Hoeflich
This project is a comprehensive theoretical analysis of thermonuclear Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia), which will account for any three-dimensional (3D) processes affecting SNe Ia explosions, and will provide a rigorous comparison of model predictions with existing and future high quality observations. The methods and techniques will be combined into the remote-access SNe Ia computational pipeline, which comprises sophisticated 3D simulation algorithms for fluid dynamics, nucleosynthesis, and radiation transport, as well as tools for the 3D analysis of SNe Ia data. SNe Ia are crucial for identifying the nature of dark energy, one of the most important problems facing modern science, because they serve as one of the most direct and precise distance indicators in the Universe. The results of this study will improve the cosmological calibration of these critical tools, by trying to understand what affects their status as standard candles, notably the different types of progenitor systems, deviations from spherical symmetry, and interaction with circumstellar matter. One important outcome will be a comprehensive set of observationally verified first-principles multidimensional explosion models of SNe Ia. Identifying physical correlations among predicted and observed signatures of SNe Ia will be crucial for improving the accuracy of their calibration.
This work is an exceptional platform for introducing students to cross-disciplinary and multi-field science, through the many areas involved in studying SNe Ia, such as numerical methods, large-scale hydrodynamics and radiation transport simulations, observations, and cosmological applications. Research results will be made available to the broad scientific community via the developed computational pipeline, and will be disseminated to the wider non-technical audience. The results will also benefit current and future ground- and space-based observing programs.
