Progress in Modeling Classical Nova Outbursts

We report on progress in modeling many facets of Classical Novae. These include magnetohydrodynamical simulations of the accretion phase (for the case of magnetic white dwarfs) and hydrodynamical simulations of the mixing of white dwarf material into the hydrogen-rich envelope by resonant gravity wave breaking at the surface of the white dwarf (See also Alexakis, et al.). We also report on initial efforts at the development of a sub-grid enrichment model based on these results as well as results of one-dimensional simulations with mixing length convection of the enrichment process exploring the long-term behavior of the enriched region. Finally, we present two-dimensional simulations of the onset and development of convection in nova precursor models and during the runaway.

This work was supported by the DOE ASCI/Alliances program at the University of Chicago under grant No. B341495.