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A. Alexakis, A. C. Calder, L. J. Dursi, F. X. Times, J. W. Truran, R. Rosner, D. M. Lamb, A. Mignone, B. Fryxel (University of Chicago), M. Zingale, K. Olson (University of California, Santa Cruz), P. Ricker (University of Illinois, Urbana)
The mixing of white dwarf material with the accretion envelope in classical novae scenarios is essential for the later evolution and the outburst. One of the plausible mechanisms for the enrichment involves the coupling of large scale flows like convection or accretion with the breaking interfacial waves at the white dwarf surface. We examine how the interaction of accretion wind with a white dwarf surface can lead to a substantial C/O enrichment that can power a novae. We use the FLASH code to perform two and three dimensional simulations of wind driven gravity waves and investigate their growth and non-linear development for a variety of wind profiles. Our results show that even weak winds generate gravity waves through a resonant mechanism with the wind that grow nonlinear and break leading to spray formation and mixing. The total amount of white dwarf material mixed at late times, is shown to be proportional to the square of the maximum wind velocity, inversely proportional to gravity and independent of the functional form of the wind profile. This work has been supported by the DOE ASCI/Alliances program at the University of Chicago under grant No. B341495.
Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society,
35#2
© 2003. The American Astronomical Soceity.