Zero Impact Parameter White Dwarf Collisions in FLASH

Understand

We systematically explore zero impact parameter collisions of white dwarfs with the Eulerian adaptive grid code FLASH for 0.64+0.64 M$_{\odot}$ and 0.81+0.81 M$_{\odot}$ mass pairings.

• Our models span a range of effective linear spatial resolutions from 5.2$\times10^{7}$ to 1.2$\times10^{7}$ cm.
• However, even the highest resolution models do not quite achieve strict numerical convergence, due to the challenge of properly resolving small-scale burning and energy transport.
• The lack of strict numerical convergence from these idealized configurations suggest that quantitative predictions of the ejected elemental abundances that are generated by binary white dwarf collision and merger simulations should be viewed with caution.