Over the last few years I have developed a finite-volume
numerical code in one, two and three dimensions in cartesian
(1/2/3d), cylindrical (1/2 d) and spherical (1d) coordinates.
The code employs a (non-standard) hybrid block/cell-based AMR
and it is parallelized using MPI, including an efficient load
balancing algorithm. The modular AMR framework can in principle
be coupled with any kind of hyperbolic system of equations of
arbitrary spatial and temporal order.
Currently, the code is used to solve the MHD equations, while
an implementation of the relativistic MHD equations is under development.
Jet driven core-collapse supernovae
While the details of the process leading to a type
Ib/c-II supernovae are still uncertain, there are strong indications
that their explosion is related to the propagation of a highly energetic
jet formed during the collapse of the stellar inner core (see the Figure).
We are currently studying the detailed explosive nucleosynthesis due to
the interaction between the jet and the inner layers of the star, and how
it is affected by the presence of a dynamically dominant magnetic field.
Interaction between magnetosphere of stars and close-in planets
In collaboration with Doug Lin & Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz, we are studying the
interaction between the magnetosphere of Sun-like stars and close-in planets.
The interaction is quite different depending on the type of planet.
The movement of a solid body (as a "Hot Earth") in the dipolar stellar magnetic
field (see the figure) produces a strecthing of the magnetic field lines leading
eventually to magnetic reconnection on the tail of the planet (thus breaking the
magnetic link between planet and star). On the other side, massive gaseous planets
("Hot-Jupiters") may mainly interact with the stellar wind. If the planet itself
has a wind, the magnetized wind-wind interaction produces a tail of gas that can
block the stellar radiation being therefore detectable.
