Similarity solutions for the structure of supernova blast waves driven by clumped ejecta. I - Undecelerated clumps

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Abstract
New similarity solutions are presented for the structure of supernova blast waves driven by clumped supernova ejecta. The solutions are obtained using a spherically symmetric two-fluid hydrodynamic model in which clumps of ejecta stream through diffuse background gas. The clumps couple to the diffuse gas through mass ablation and the associated momentum and energy transfer. The most striking difference between these solutions and previous solutions is that clumps may move ahead of the shock front in the ambient medium, leading a precursor which heats the medium in advance of the main shock. The results appear to provide a natural explanation for the X-ray halo seen in Cas A and for various other aspects of the morphology of this supernova remnant. The difference between Cas A and remnants such as Tycho, in which clumps of ejecta are only observed within the confines of an interstellar shock front, may be explained by differences in evolutionary epoch, or differences in the structure of the ambient medium, or intrinsic differences in the clumps.

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