Stability of Detonations in Supernovae

Carbon-oxygen thermonuclear detonations in supernovae are unstable at densities above ≃ 2 × 10⁷ g cm^-3 with respect to longitudinal perturbations. The instability is caused by the positive feedback between hydrodynamical fluctuations and the energy release in the ¹²C + ¹²C reaction. The question remains open whether the detonations are stable or not at densities below 2 × 10⁷ g cm^-3. The implications of the instability to the initiation of detonations in supernovae and supernovae nucleosynthesis are discussed.