Modeling type Ia supernovae

Recent progress in modeling type La supernovae by means of three-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations as well as several of the still open questions are addressed in this article. It will be shown that the new models have considerable predictive power which allows us to study observable properties such as light curves and spectra without adjustable non-physical parameters. This is a necessary requisite to improve our understanding of the explosion mechanism and to settle the question of the applicability of SNe la as distance indicators for cosmology. In particular, we describe the modeling of SNe la as thermonuclear explosions in which the flame after ignition near the center of the progenitor white dwarf star propagates outward in the sub-sonic deflagration mode accelerated by the interaction with turbulence. We explore the capabilities of this model by comparison with observations and show in a preliminary approach, how such a model can be applied to study the origin of the diversity of SNe la. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.