Present descriptions of nitric oxide (NO) transport in the lungs use two compartment models: airway compartment without mixing and alveolar compartment with perfect mixing. These models neglect NO molecular diffusion in the airways. To assess the impact of axial diffusion on expired NO profile, we solved a transport equation that incorporated diffusion, convection, and NO sources in the symmetrical Weibel model of the lung. When NO parameters computed from experimental data with the two compartment models are used in our model as NO sources, simulated end-expired NO is 29-45 and 64-78% of experimental values at expiratory flows of 50 and 2,000 ml/s, respectively. These lower values are because of NO axial diffusion: During expiration, NO back diffusion (opposed to convection) prevents some NO from being expired, so a two- to fivefold increase of airway NO excretion is necessary to simulate end-expired NO consistent with experimental data. We conclude that, insofar as a significant amount of NO is produced in small airways, models neglecting NO axial diffusion underestimate excretion in the airways.

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Aims. This work presents a new hydrodynamical algorithm to study astrophysical detonations. A prime motivation of this development is the description of a carbon detonation in conditions relevant to superbursts, which are thought to result from the propagation of a detonation front around the surface of a neutron star in the carbon layer underlying the atmosphere. Methods. The algorithm we have developed is a finite-volume method inspired by the original MUSCL scheme of van Leer (1979). The algorithm is of second-order in the smooth part of the flow and avoids dimensional splitting. It is applied to some test cases, and the time-dependent results are compared to the corresponding steady state solution. Results. Our algorithm proves to be robust to test cases, and is considered to be reliably applicable to astrophysical detonations. The preliminary one-dimensional calculations we have performed demonstrate that the carbon detonation at the surface of a neutron star is a multiscale phenomenon. The length scale of liberation of energy is 10 6 times smaller than the total reaction length. We show that a multi-resolution approach can be used to solve all the reaction lengths. This result will be very useful in future multi-dimensional simulations. We present also thermodynamical and composition profiles after the passage of a detonation in a pure carbon or mixed carbon-iron layer, in thermodynamical conditions relevant to superbursts in pure helium accretor systems.