Hydrodynamic Modeling of Supernova Remnant G1.9+0.3
Abstract
Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) produce most of the iron in our universe and provide essential information about cosmology. However, the detailed mechanism for these explosions is not well understood. Though there have not been any recent observations of a SN Ia in our Galaxy, observations of hundreds of supernova remnants (SNRs) at ages of several hundred to several thousand years contain important clues. There is a substantial disconnect, however, between what is known about the explosions themselves and those remnants. Starting from a detailed SN Ia model simulation 100 seconds after the white dwarf's explosion, we use numerical hydrodynamical simulations to investigate the system hundreds of years later. In particular, we want to compare this with observations of G1.9+0.3. At an age of approximately 100 years it is the youngest SNR in our Galaxy, and is thought to be a SN Ia. Assuming spherical symmetry, a simple analytic description of the white dwarf after explosion produces similar results to those obtained using the numerical SN Ia simulation. Assuming cylindrical symmetry in two dimensions, we can make predictions within the remnant for the location of unburned carbon and oxygen from the white dwarf as well as the explosion-generated intermediate mass elements (Si, S, etc.) and heavier elements (Fe). We will use our numerical white dwarf model to locate the regions with the highest concentration of each element group. We will then compare these results to new observational data from NASA's Chandra X-Ray Observatory. This data shows X-ray emission lines of intermediate mass elements and iron in the northern portion of the remnant, in excess of contributions from the interstellar medium. Preliminary results suggest that the presence of reverse-shocked iron, as inferred from X-ray observations, may be a significant constraint on SN Ia models.
- Publication:
-
AAS/High Energy Astrophysics Division #12
- Pub Date:
- September 2011
- Bibcode:
- 2011HEAD...12.3426G