Thermal instability in supernova shells.
Abstract
Thermal instability in the radiative-cooling region behind a shock will cause upstream density fluctuations to collapse into thin sheets aligned parallel to the shock front. A linearized calculation demonstrates the development of this instability. Thermal conduction suppresses the development of small-scale perturbations. Estimates of the scale sizes for the fully developed condensations agree roughly with the scale sizes of fine structure observed in supernova shells such as the Cygnus Loop.
- Publication:
-
The Astrophysical Journal
- Pub Date:
- March 1975
- DOI:
- 10.1086/153436
- Bibcode:
- 1975ApJ...196..565M
- Keywords:
-
- Shock Fronts;
- Stellar Envelopes;
- Supernovae;
- Thermal Instability;
- Astronomical Models;
- Conductive Heat Transfer;
- Density Distribution;
- Fine Structure;
- Linear Equations;
- Radiative Heat Transfer;
- Shock Wave Propagation;
- Astrophysics