Searcharxiv⌕ Search

arXiv subjects

T. Plewa

Publications and source records attributed to T. Plewa.

33 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
arXiv2002

Mapping Initial Hydrostatic Models in Godunov Codes

We look in detail at the process of mapping an astrophysical initial model from a stellar evolution code onto the computational grid of an explicit, Godunov type code while maintaining hydrostatic equilibrium. This mapping process is common in astrophysical simulations, when it is necessary to follow short-timescale dynamics after a period of long timescale buildup. We look at the effects of spatial resolution, boundary conditions, the treatment of the gravitational source terms in the hydrodynamics solver, and the initialization process itself. We conclude with a summary detailing the mapping process that yields the lowest ambient velocities in the mapped model.

astro-ph↗
arXiv2002

On Validating an Astrophysical Simulation Code

We present a case study of validating an astrophysical simulation code. Our study focuses on validating FLASH, a parallel, adaptive-mesh hydrodynamics code for studying the compressible, reactive flows found in many astrophysical environments. We describe the astrophysics problems of interest and the challenges associated with simulating these problems. We describe methodology and discuss solutions to difficulties encountered in verification and validation. We describe verification tests regularly administered to the code, present the results of new verification tests, and outline a method for testing general equations of state. We present the results of two validation tests in which we compared simulations to experimental data. The first is of a laser-driven shock propagating through a multi-layer target, a configuration subject to both Rayleigh-Taylor and Richtmyer-Meshkov instabilities. The second test is a classic Rayleigh-Taylor instability, where a heavy fluid is supported against the force of gravity by a light fluid. Our simulations of the multi-layer target experiments showed good agreement with the experimental results, but our simulations of the Rayleigh-Taylor instability did not agree well with the experimental results. We discuss our findings and present results of additional simulations undertaken to further investigate the Rayleigh-Taylor instability.

astro-ph↗
arXiv2001

Convective cores in galactic cooling flows

We use hydrodynamic simulations with adaptive grid refinement to study the dependence of hot gas flows in X-ray luminous giant elliptical galaxies on the efficiency of heat supply to the gas. We consider a number of potential heating mechanisms including Type Ia supernovae and sporadic nuclear activity of a central supermassive black hole. As a starting point for this research we use an equilibrium hydrostatic recycling model (Kritsuk 1996). We show that a compact cooling inflow develops, if the heating is slightly insufficient to counterbalance radiative cooling of the hot gas in the central few kiloparsecs. An excessive heating in the centre, instead, drives a convectively unstable outflow. We model the onset of the instability and a quasi-steady convective regime in the core of the galaxy in two-dimensions assuming axial symmetry. Provided the power of net energy supply in the core is not too high, the convection remains subsonic. The convective pattern is dominated by buoyancy driven large-scale mushroom-like structures. Unlike in the case of a cooling inflow, the X-ray surface brightness of an (on average) isentropic convective core does not display a sharp maximum at the centre. A hybrid model, which combines a subsonic peripheral cooling inflow with an inner convective core, appears to be stable. We also discuss observational implications of these results.

astro-ph↗
arXiv2000

Exploding and Non-exploding Stars: Coupling Nuclear Reaction Networks to Multidimensional Hydrodynamics

After decades of one-dimensional nucleosynthesis calculations, the growth of computational resources has meanwhile reached a level, which for the first time allows astrophysicists to consider performing routinely realistic multidimensional nucleosynthesis calculations in explosive and, to some extent, also in non-explosive environments. In the present contribution we attempt to give a short overview of the physical and numerical problems which are encountered in these simulations. In addition, we assess the accuracy that can be currently achieved in the computation of nucleosynthetic yields, using multidimensional simulations of core collapse supernovae as an example.

astro-ph↗
arXiv2000

Non-spherical core collapse supernovae and nucleosynthesis

Motivated by observations of supernova SN 1987A, various authors have simulated Rayleigh-Taylor (RT) instabilities in the envelopes of core collapse supernovae (for a review, see Mueller 1998). The non-radial motion found in these simulations qualitatively agreed with observations in SN 1987A, but failed to explain the extent of mixing of newly synthesized 56Ni quantitatively. Here we present results of a 2D hydrodynamic simulation which re-addresses this failure and covers the entire evolution of the first 5 hours after core bounce.

astro-ph↗
arXiv2000

The First Hours of a Core Collapse Supernova

New two-dimensional, high-resolution calculations of a core collapse supernova in a 15 Msol blue supergiant are presented, which cover the entire evolution from shock revival until the first few hours of the explosion. Explosive nucleosynthesis, its dependence upon convective mixing during the first second of the evolution and the growth of Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities at the composition interfaces of the progenitor star are all modeled consistently and allow for a comparison with observational data. We confirm our earlier findings, that the perturbations induced by neutrino driven convection are sufficiently strong to seed large-scale Rayleigh-Taylor mixing and to destroy the onion-shell structure of the stellar He-core. As in our earlier calculations, the strong deceleration of the nickel clumps in the layers adjacent to the He/H interface suggests that the high velocities of iron-group elements observed in SN 1987A cannot be explained on the basis of currently favored progenitor models. Possible solutions to this dilemma and the implications of the mixing for type Ib explosions are briefly discussed.

astro-ph↗
arXiv2000

High-resolution simulations and visualization of protoplanetary disks

A problem of mass flow in the immediate vicinity of a planet embedded in a protoplanetary disk is studied numerically in two dimensions. Large differences in temporal and spatial scales involved suggest that a specialized discretization method for solution of hydrodynamical equations may offer great savings in computational resources, and can make extensive parameter studies feasible. Preliminary results obtained with help of Adaptive Mesh Refinement technique and high-order explicit Eulerian solver are presented. This combination of numerical techniques appears to be an excellent tool which allows for direct simulations of mass flow in vicinity of the accretor at moderate computational cost. In particular, it is possible to resolve the surface of the planet and to model the process of planet growth with minimal set of assumptions. Some issues related to visualization of the results and future prospects are discussed briefly.

astro-ph↗
arXiv2000

Nucleosynthesis and Clump Formation in a Core Collapse Supernova

High-resolution two-dimensional simulations were performed for the first five minutes of the evolution of a core collapse supernova explosion in a 15 solar mass blue supergiant progenitor. The computations start shortly after bounce and include neutrino-matter interactions by using a light-bulb approximation for the neutrinos, and a treatment of the nucleosynthesis due to explosive silicon and oxygen burning. We find that newly formed iron-group elements are distributed throughout the inner half of the helium core by Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities at the Ni+Si/O and C+O/He interfaces, seeded by convective overturn during the early stages of the explosion. Fast moving nickel mushrooms with velocities up to about 4000 km/s are observed. This offers a natural explanation for the mixing required in light curve and spectral synthesis studies of Type Ib explosions. A continuation of the calculations to later times, however, indicates that the iron velocities observed in SN 1987 A cannot be reproduced because of a strong deceleration of the clumps in the dense shell left behind by the shock at the He/H interface.

astro-ph↗
arXiv1999

The First Five Minutes of a Core Collapse Supernova: Multidimensional Hydrodynamic Models

We present results of high-resolution two-dimensional simulations which follow the first five minutes of a core collapse supernova explosion in a 15 solar mass blue supergiant progenitor. The computations start shortly after core bounce and include neutrino-matter interactions by using a light-bulb approximation for the neutrinos, and a treatment of the nucleosynthesis due to explosive silicon and oxygen burning. We find that newly formed iron-group elements are distributed throughout a significant fraction of the stellar helium core by the concerted action of convective and Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities. Fast moving nickel mushrooms with velocities up to 4000 km/s are observed. A continuation of the calculations to later times, however, indicates, that the iron velocities observed in SN 1987 A cannot be reproduced due to a strong deceleration of the clumps during their interaction with the dense shell left behind by the shock at the He/H interface. Therefore, we cannot confirm the claim that convective "premixing" of the nickel in the early phases of the explosion solves the problem of the high iron velocities.

astro-ph↗
arXiv1998

Explosive Nucleosynthesis: Coupling Reaction Networks to AMR Hydrodynamics

In recent years the technique of Adaptive Mesh Refinement (AMR) has been successfully applied to several astrophysical problems. This method should also allow a consistent multi-dimensional modelling of supernova explosions. In this contribution we address some of the computational difficulties encountered when trying to apply the AMR method to explosive nucleosynthesis and supernova envelope ejection.

astro-ph↗
arXiv1997

Bending relativistic jets in AGNs

We present simulations of relativistic jets propagating in a nonuniform medium. Specifically, we study the bending of jets propagating obliquely to the vector of the density-gradient. Our results are applied to the NGC 4258, where such a medium is assumed to be provided by the atmosphere of the sub-parsec accretion disk tilted with respect to the original direction of the jet propagation. As a result, the jet is bent on a scale comparable to the density scaleheight of the disk atmosphere. The magnitude of the bending effect is found to be largest for light jets with low Lorentz factors. The predicted direction of bending is consistent with the observations.

astro-ph↗
arXiv1996

Interactions of Massive Stars with Their Parental Clouds

Here we discuss the interaction of massive stars with their parental molecular clouds. A summary of the dynamical evolution of HII regions and wind-driven bubbles in high-pressure cloud cores is given. Both ultracompact HII regions and ultracompact wind-driven bubbles can reach pressure equilibrium with their surrounding medium. The structures stall their expansion and become static and, as long as the ionization sources and the ambient densities remain about constant, the resulting regions are stable and long lived. For cases with negative density gradients, and depending on the density distribution, some regions never reach the static equilibrium condition. For power-law density stratifications, $ρ\propto r^{-w}$, the properties of the evolution depend on a critical exponent, $w_{crit}$, above which the ionization front cannot be slowed down by recombinations or new ionizations, and the cloud becomes fully ionized. This critical exponent is $w_{crit}=3/2$ during the expansion phase. For $w>3/2 $ the gas expands supersonically into the surrounding ionized medium, and there are two regimes separated by $w=3$. For $3/2 3$, the fast regime, the shock becomes strong and accelerates with time. Finally, the evolution of slow winds in highly pressurized region is described briefly.

astro-ph↗
arXiv1996

The State of the Gas Around Young Stellar Groups

We present the main features in the evolution of the gas pressure in star forming regions, from the formation of the parental cloud to the moment when the region is pressurized by interacting stellar winds. The main processes for cloud destruction and the self-limiting properties of star formation are described. The high star forming efficiency in nuclear starbursts is a consequence of the high gas pressures. The evolution of slow winds in highly pressurized region is also sketched.

astro-ph↗
arXiv1996

On the evolution of ejecta fragments in compact supernova remnants

We examine the evolution of inhomogeneities (fragments) of supernova ejecta in compact supernova remnants by means of hydrodynamical modeling and simplified analytical calculations. Under the influence of intense post-shock cooling the fragments become strongly compressed as they traverse the hot shocked region between the reverse and outer shocks of the remnant. We find that the most likely outcome of the interaction of fragments with the reverse shock and the hot shocked region is their disruption resulting in generation of secondary fragments. Secondary fragments arriving at the thin and dense outer shell of the remnant give rise to brief X-ray flashes. Under suitable conditions the primary fragments may traverse the hot shocked region without being completely destroyed, to eventually reach the outer shell as dense, elongated structures. Collisions of such fragments with the shell are likely to give rise to powerful X-ray flares.

astro-ph↗