  The discovery of the accelerated expansion of the universe using Type Ia
supernovae (SNe Ia) has stimulated a tremendous amount of interest in the use
of SNe Type Ia events as standard cosmological candles, and as a probe of the
fundamental physics of dark energy. Recent observations of SNe Ia have
indicated a significant population difference depending on the host galaxy.
These observational findings are consistent with SNe Ia Ni-56 production in
star-forming spiral galaxies some 0.1 solar masses higher - and therefore more
luminous than in elliptical galaxies. We present recent full-star, 3D
simulations of Type Ia supernovae which may help explain the nature of this
systematic variation in SNe Ia luminosities, as well as the nature of the Ia
explosion mechanism. These insights may in turn eventually shed light on the
mystery of dark energy itself.
