Scientists have simulated a thermonuclear explosion inside a supercomputer to gain new insights into neutron stars. Neutron stars are extremely dense remnants of massive stars and are able to undergo thermonuclear burning of accumulated material from a binary companion, emitting powerful X-ray bursts.
Previously, simulations of these bursts had only been done in 2D, but now researchers used the Summit supercomputer to conduct a 3D simulation. They modeled a neutron star with temperatures millions of times higher than the Sun and spinning extremely rapidly.
The simulation ignited a thermonuclear flame on the star’s surface to study how it would spread. While the 2D and 3D flames spread at slightly different rates, the overall growth trends were similar, validating the 2D approach. Conducting the simulation in 3D provides a more accurate model of turbulence.
Being able to simulate the flames in 3D brings scientists closer to fully modeling flame spread across the entire surface of a neutron star. This will help constrain properties of neutron stars like their size and composition. The simulations provide insight into the explosive behavior and evolution of these enigmatic stellar remnants.
Source: ScienceAlert
