[Eoas-seminar] [Seminar-announce] Scientific Computing Colloquium with Tomasz Plewa

[eoas-seminar at lists.fsu.edu]

"Riding with Fuel: How Supernova Flames Preheat Their Surroundings"

Tomasz Plewa
Department of Scientific Computing
Florida State University (FSU)

Please feel free to forward/share this invitation with other groups/disciplines that might be interested in this talk/topic. All are welcome to attend.

NOTE: In-person attendance is requested in our 499 Dirac Science Library (DSL) Seminar Room. Zoom access is intended for external (non-departmental) participants only.

https://fsu.zoom.us/j/94273595552
Meeting # 942 7359 5552


Wednesday, Oct 21, 2026, Schedule:

  *
3:00 to 3:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
     *
☕ Nespresso & Teatime - 417 DSL Commons

  *
3:30 to 4:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
     *
🕟 Colloquium - 499 DSL Seminar Room


Abstract:
Type Ia supernovae are thermonuclear explosions of white dwarfs. In the leading scenario, the explosion begins with a subsonic flame, or deflagration, whose buoyant rise drives turbulent motion and increasingly fine structure. Earlier simulations found a surprising effect: fuel ahead of the flame can become much quicker to ignite than undisturbed fuel. This preconditioning may matter for whether a deflagration can later transition to a detonation, but its physical origin was unclear.

We investigate this effect by tracking millions of Lagrangian tracer particles through three-dimensional adaptive-mesh simulations at three fuel densities. The particle histories let us follow the thermodynamic changes experienced by individual parcels as they approach the flame. We find that ignition time decreases as a power law of distance from the flame, with the fitted exponent steepening from about 0.7 at the lowest density to 3.4 at the highest. The reduction is accounted for almost entirely by fuel-temperature increases of 13–63% relative to unperturbed fuel.

We propose a two-step mechanism: thermal expansion of the flame first drives nearby fuel away from hydrostatic equilibrium. The fuel’s subsequent pressure adjustment, mediated by acoustic waves, redistributes internal energy toward the thermal component and raises its temperature. Because nuclear burning is disabled in these simulations, they establish neither secondary ignition nor detonation. Burning-enabled simulations are the next step toward testing whether this preconditioning can help trigger either outcome.


Additional colloquium details can be found here:
https://www.sc.fsu.edu/news-and-events/colloquium/colloquium-with-tomasz-plewa-2026-10-21<https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sc.fsu.edu%2Fnews-and-events%2Fcolloquium%2Fcolloquium-with-tomasz-plewa-2026-10-21&data=05%7C02%7Csc-seminar-announce%40lists.fsu.edu%7C737c2bd24f3847b91bf808df2c8ffdf0%7Ca36450ebdb0642a78d1b026719f701e3%7C0%7C0%7C639278669086910628%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=QsxoTPccw2%2B14%2F2jKZckBUg6n3EzycodQvyyUcTm3uw%3D&reserved=0>

🎦 Colloquium recordings will be made available here:
https://www.sc.fsu.edu/news-and-events/seminars<https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sc.fsu.edu%2Fnews-and-events%2Fseminars&data=05%7C02%7Csc-seminar-announce%40lists.fsu.edu%7C737c2bd24f3847b91bf808df2c8ffdf0%7Ca36450ebdb0642a78d1b026719f701e3%7C0%7C0%7C639278669086935746%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=ERVV2BnUf0Ak8JN5mspHxjpxPB0myBpvaNsY%2Bs1wPBE%3D&reserved=0>

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