Eberly College | Penn State University | 2019 Jan 21
New study of nearby supernova SN1987A answers longstanding debate
A new method to measure the temperature of atoms during the explosive death of a star will help scientists understand the shock wave that occurs as a result of this supernova explosion. An international team of researchers, including a Penn State scientist, combined observations of a nearby supernova remnant—the structure remaining after a star’s explosion—with simulations in order to measure the temperature of slow-moving gas atoms surrounding the star as they are heated by the material propelled outward by the blast.
The research team analyzed long-term observations of the nearby supernova remnant SN1987A using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and created a model describing the supernova. The team confirmed that the temperature of even the heaviest atoms—which had not yet been investigated—is related to their atomic weight, answering a long-standing question about shock waves and providing important ...
The explosive death of a massive star like SN1987A propels material outwards at speeds of up to one tenth the speed of light, pushing shock waves into the surrounding interstellar gas. Researchers are particularly interested in the shock front, the abrupt transition between the supersonic explosion and the relatively slow-moving gas surrounding the star. The shock front heats this cool slow-moving gas to millions of degrees—temperatures high enough for the gas to emit X-rays detectable from Earth. ...
The research team, led by Marco Miceli and Salvatore Orlando of the University of Palermo, Italy, measured the temperatures of different elements behind the shock front, which will improve understanding of the physics of the shock process. These temperatures are expected to be proportional to the elements’ atomic weight, but the temperatures are difficult to measure accurately. Previous studies have led to conflicting results regarding this relationship, and have failed to include heavy elements with high atomic weights. The research team turned to supernova SN1987A to help address this dilemma. ...
Collisionless Shock Heating of Heavy Ions in SN 1987A ~ Marco Miceli et al
- Nature Astronomy (online 21 Jan 2019) DOI: 10.1038/s41550-018-0677-8