Comparison of Ne-22 core and shell distilled WD detonations in <scp>arepo</scp>

ABSTRACT We present three-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations of detonations in 1.0 $\mathrm{M_{\odot }}$ white dwarfs (WDs) that have undergone $^{22} \mathrm{Ne}$ distillation during crystallization. These simulations, conducted with the moving-mesh code arepo, aim to investigate the effects of chemical separation on the ejecta and spectra of such WDs undergoing thermonuclear explosions. The distillation process alters the internal chemical stratification of the star, concentrating neutron-rich material either in a central core or in an interior shell. We model both configurations as well as a homogeneous equivalent for each case with the same $^{22} \mathrm{Ne}$ content distributed evenly at all radii. Despite similar $^{56} \mathrm{Ni}$ yields between the core and shell models (0.40 and 0.45 $\mathrm{M_{\odot }}$, respectively), the two models yield markedly different iron-group abundances. Both distilled models showed significantly enhanced production of $^{15} \mathrm{N}$ via the decay of $^{15} \mathrm{O}$. The $^{22} \mathrm{Ne}$-core model produces enhanced amounts of stable neutron-rich iron-group isotopes such as $^{58} \mathrm{Ni}$ and $^{54} \mathrm{Fe}$. We highlight observational signatures associated with these differences, including potentially enhanced [Ni ii] lines in nebular spectra. Synthetic tardis spectra at early times show only moderate differences. Our results suggest that WD distillation, a process linked to delayed cooling in the Gaia Q branch population, may leave detectable nucleosynthetic fingerprints in a subset of Type Ia supernovae. These findings open additional pathways to probe progenitor evolution and the role of crystallization in shaping the diversity of thermonuclear transients.

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Publication Details

Journal
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Published
2025-12-03
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/staf2149
Primary Topic
Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies
Type
article
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article

Comparison of Ne-22 core and shell distilled WD detonations in arepo

I. R. Seitenzahl, Lilia Ferrario, Simon Blouin, Uri Pierre Burmester
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies
article

Comparison of Ne-22 core and shell distilled WD detonations in arepo

I. R. Seitenzahl, Lilia Ferrario, Simon Blouin, Uri Pierre Burmester
article en

Abstract

ABSTRACT We present three-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations of detonations in 1.0 $\mathrm{M_{\odot }}$ white dwarfs (WDs) that have undergone $^{22} \mathrm{Ne}$ distillation during crystallization. These simulations, conducted with the moving-mesh code arepo, aim to investigate the effects of chemical separation on the ejecta and spectra of such WDs undergoing thermonuclear explosions. The distillation process alters the internal chemical stratification of the star, concentrating neutron-rich material either in a central core or in an interior shell. We model both configurations as well as a homogeneous equivalent for each case with the same $^{22} \mathrm{Ne}$ content distributed evenly at all radii. Despite similar $^{56} \mathrm{Ni}$ yields between the core and shell models (0.40 and 0.45 $\mathrm{M_{\odot }}$, respectively), the two models yield markedly different iron-group abundances. Both distilled models showed significantly enhanced production of $^{15} \mathrm{N}$ via the decay of $^{15} \mathrm{O}$. The $^{22} \mathrm{Ne}$-core model produces enhanced amounts of stable neutron-rich iron-group isotopes such as $^{58} \mathrm{Ni}$ and $^{54} \mathrm{Fe}$. We highlight observational signatures associated with these differences, including potentially enhanced [Ni ii] lines in nebular spectra. Synthetic tardis spectra at early times show only moderate differences. Our results suggest that WD distillation, a process linked to delayed cooling in the Gaia Q branch population, may leave detectable nucleosynthetic fingerprints in a subset of Type Ia supernovae. These findings open additional pathways to probe progenitor evolution and the role of crystallization in shaping the diversity of thermonuclear transients.

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical SocietyVol. 545(3)
Australian National University (AU), University of Victoria (CA), Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute (AU), Astronomy Australia (AU)
Openalex Percentile: Top 74%
Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies
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