Petascale Computing of Thermonuclear Supernova Explosions

University Of Chicago, Chicago IL

Investigators

Abstract

Dr. Donald Lamb of the University of Chicago will undertake a theoretical program to comprehensively and systematically validate current models of Type Ia supernovae, which are the explosions of white dwarf stars experiencing mass transfer from a nearby red giant. He and his group will carry out hundreds of high-fidelity, three-dimensional, whole-star simulations that include a wide variety of input model parameters. They will also use an integrated simulation pipeline to construct high-quality model light curves and spectra. The proposed effort will leverage the emergence of the Flash Center as a leader in this field and the extensive experience of personnel in the Center in conducting large and complex simulations of Type Ia supernovae. The FLASH code, developed by this group, is a highly capable, fully modular, extensible, community code that scales to 100K processors and has been used for a variety of problems by more than 300 scientists around the world. Their Phoenix, SEDONA, and LANL radiation transport codes and accompanying data management software, which has also been developed by the Flash Center, monitors the execution of the simulations, automatically transfers the data generated by the simulations to mass storage, incorporates a scientific data analysis pipeline, and provides an interface that allows astrophysicists doing the simulations to keep track of and manipulate all the data generated by the simulations. Observations using Type Ia supernovae as "standard candles" revealed that the expansion rate of the universe is accelerating and led to the discovery of dark energy. Understanding dark energy ranks among the most compelling problems in physical science. The goals of several large future projects, including the Dark Energy Survey the Joint Dark Energy Mission and the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope are, in part, to determine the properties of dark energy. Most scientists in the field believe this goal will require a better understanding of the explosion mechanism, more accurate simulations of the explosions, and quantification of the uncertainties in the predictions made by these simulations. This group will also engage in several activities in education and public outreach. They will collaborate with staff at Chicago's Adler Planetarium to create museum exhibits that help foster public education about supernova science, and will continue their cooperation with broadcast media production companies.