Full-star Type Ia supernova explosion models

Abstract

We present full-star simulations of Type Ia supernova explosions on the basis of the standard Chandrasekhar-mass deflagration model. Most simulations so far considered only one spatial octant and assumed mirror symmetry to the other octants. Two full-star models are evolved to homologous expansion and compared with previous single-octant simulations. Therefrom we analyze the effect of abolishing the artificial symmetry constraint on the evolution of the flame surface. It turns out that the development of asymmetries depends on the chosen initial flame configuration. Such asymmetries of the explosion process could possibly contribute to the observed polarization of some Type Ia supernova spectra.