Dynamics of Kepler's Supernova Remnant
Abstract
Observations of Kepler's SNR have revealed a strong interaction with the ambient medium, far in excess of that expected at a distance of about 600 pc away from the Galactic plane where Kepler's SNR is located. This has been interpreted as a result of the interaction of supernova ejecta with the dense circumstellar medium (CSM). Based on the bow-shock model of Bandiera (1985), we study the dynamics of this interaction. The CSM distribution consists of an undisturbed stellar wind of a moving supernova progenitor and a dense shell formed in its interaction with a tenuous interstellar medium. Supernova ejecta drive a blast wave through the stellar wind which splits into the transmitted and reflected shocks upon hitting this bow-shock shell. We identify the transmitted shock with the nonradiative, Balmer-dominated shocks found recently in Kepler's SNR. The transmitted shock most probably penetrated the shell in the vicinity of the stagnation point.
- Publication:
-
The Astrophysical Journal
- Pub Date:
- November 1992
- DOI:
- 10.1086/171989
- Bibcode:
- 1992ApJ...400..222B
- Keywords:
-
- Hydrodynamics;
- Interstellar Matter;
- Kepler Laws;
- Stellar Envelopes;
- Stellar Winds;
- Supernova Remnants;
- Milky Way Galaxy;
- Shock Wave Interaction;
- Stellar Mass Ejection;
- Taylor Instability;
- Astrophysics;
- STARS: CIRCUMSTELLAR MATTER;
- HYDRODYNAMICS;
- ISM: INDIVIDUAL NAME: KEPLER'S SUPERNOVA;
- ISM: SUPERNOVA REMNANTS