Proposal ID: AST-0307366 / AST-0307256 Institution: University of Virginia / North Carolina State University PI: Chevalier, Roger / Blondin, John
Dr. Roger Chevalier at the University of Virginia and Dr. John Blondin at North Carolina State University are awarded funds to model the young remnants of massive star supernovae. During their lifetimes, massive stars undergo mass loss during various evolutionary phases. When they finally end their lives as supernovae, the interaction depends on both the mass loss processes leading up to the explosion and the structure of the exploding star. Multi-wavelength observations of this interaction will be modeled for various types of massive star supernovae. Realistic stellar models will be used in hydrodynamic models of the interaction, including the effects of inhomogeneous structure in the circumstellar material. The physical processes to be investigated include the production of X-ray emission, electron heating in fast shock waves, the production and evolution of relativistic electrons and their emission, possible dust formation in a dense interaction shell, infrared emission from collisionally heated dust, and spectral properties expected for various interaction components. The mass loss properties of various kinds of massive star supernovae will be determined and related to expectations from evolutionary models.
This work has broad implications for astrophysics in that it is relevant to the late evolution of massive stars, the return of heavy elements to the interstellar medium, and physical processes at high energy densities. The research will build ties between the University of Virginia, North Carolina State University, and Stockholm Observatory. This work will also result in the training of a graduate student in computer simulation techniques. A module describing the results of three-dimensional simulations will be added to a public web site that already offers the existing code. Finally, the research results will be integrated into undergraduate courses and public lectures.
