Three-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations of the combustion of a neutron star into a quark star

Journal Article · Sat Oct 15 00:00:00 EDT 2011 · Physical Review. D, Particles Fields

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PHYSREVD.84.083002· OSTI ID:21607850

Herzog, Matthias; Roepke, Friedrich K ^[1]

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1. Max-Planck-Institut fuer Astrophysik, Karl-Schwarzschild-Str. 1, D-85741 Garching (Germany)

We present three-dimensional numerical simulations of turbulent combustion converting a neutron star into a quark star. Hadronic matter, described by a microphysical finite-temperature equation of state, is converted into strange quark matter. We assume this phase, represented by a bag-model equation of state, to be absolutely stable. Following the example of thermonuclear burning in white dwarfs leading to type Ia supernovae, we treat the conversion process as a potentially turbulent deflagration. Solving the nonrelativistic Euler equations using established numerical methods we conduct large eddy simulations including an elaborate subgrid scale model, while the propagation of the conversion front is modeled with a level-set method. Our results show that for large parts of the parameter space the conversion becomes turbulent and therefore significantly faster than in the laminar case. Despite assuming absolutely stable strange quark matter, in our hydrodynamic approximation an outer layer remains in the hadronic phase, because the conversion front stops when it reaches conditions under which the combustion is no longer exothermic.

• OSTI ID: 21607850
• Journal Information: Physical Review. D, Particles Fields, Vol. 84, Issue 8; Other Information: DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevD.84.083002; (c) 2011 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0556-2821
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS
APPROXIMATIONS
BAG MODEL
COMBUSTION
COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION
CONVERSION
EQUATIONS OF STATE
HADRONS
LARGE-EDDY SIMULATION
LAYERS
NEUTRON STARS
QUARKS
S QUARKS
SCALE MODELS
SUPERNOVAE
THREE-DIMENSIONAL CALCULATIONS
WHITE DWARF STARS
BINARY STARS
CALCULATION METHODS
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
COMPOSITE MODELS
DWARF STARS
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
EQUATIONS
ERUPTIVE VARIABLE STARS
EXTENDED PARTICLE MODEL
FERMIONS
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
OXIDATION
PARTICLE MODELS
QUARK MODEL
SIMULATION
STARS
STRANGE PARTICLES
STRUCTURAL MODELS
THERMOCHEMICAL PROCESSES
VARIABLE STARS