Thermonuclear supernovae

We present a new way of modeling turbulent thermonuclear deflagration fronts in white dwarfs undergoing a type Ia supernova explosion. Our approach is based on a level set method which treats the front as a mathematical discontinuity and allows for full coupling between the front geometry and the flow field. First results of the method applied to the problem of type Ia supernovae are discussed. It will be shown that even in 2D and even with a physically motivated sub-grid model numerically "converged" results are difficult to obtain. (C) 2000 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.