Cococubed.com Helium Detonations On Neutron Stars
Home Astronomy Research    2024 Radiative Opacity    2024 Neutrino Emission from Stars    2023 White Dwarfs & 12C(α,γ)16O    2023 MESA VI    2022 Earendel, A Highly Magnified Star    2022 Black Hole Mass Spectrum    2021 Skye Equation of State    2021 White Dwarf Pulsations & 22Ne    Software Instruments AAS Journals    2024 AAS YouTube    2024 AAS Peer Review Workshops 2024 ASU Energy in Everyday Life 2024 MESA Classroom Outreach and Education Materials Other Stuff:    Bicycle Adventures    Illustrations      Introductory Astronomy      Energy in Everyday Life      Geometry of Art and Nature      Seedhead phyllotaxis      Calculus      Logos and Motifs      Nifty HR diagrams      Supernova 1987A      Unknown Pleasures      Reaction network matrices      Nuclide charts    Presentations Contact: F.X.Timmes my one page vitae, full vitae, research statement, and teaching statement.	Helium Detonations on Neutron Stars (2001) In this article we explore the results of a numerical study of helium detonations on the surfaces of neutron stars. We describe two-dimensional simulations of the evolution of a detonation as it breaks through the accreted envelope of the neutron star and propagates laterally through the accreted material. The detonation front propagates laterally at nearly the Chapman-Jouguet velocity, v=1.3 × 109 g cm-3. A series of surface waves propagate across the pool of hot ash behind the detonation front with the same speed, matching the speed expected from shallow water wave theory. The entire envelope oscillates in the gravitational potential well of the neutron star with a period of ~50 µs. The photosphere reaches an estimated height of 10 km above the surface of the neutron star. Our study confirms that such a detonation can insure the spread of burning over the entire neutron star surface on a timescale consistent with burst rise times. We analyze the sensitivity of the results to the spatial resolution and the assumed initial conditions. We conclude by presenting a comparison of this model to type I X-ray bursts. Cover of Physics Today February 2002 Line Integral Convolution, Randy Hudson. mpg movie, Mike Papka mp4 movie. See Mike Zingale's pages for more images and movies.