The non-relativistic interiors of ultra-relativistic explosions: Extension to the Blandford-McKee solutions

by Mrs. Tamar Faran

HUJI

at Astrophysics and Cosmology Seminar

Wed, 01 Jun 2022, 11:10
Sacta-Rashi Building for Physics (54), room 207

Abstract

The hydrodynamics of an ultrarelativistic flow, enclosed by a strong shock wave, are described by the well known Blandford-McKee solutions in spherical geometry. These solutions, however, are valid only in a very narrow region behind the shock where the flow is ultra-relativistic, while most of the volume is Newtonian. In this talk I will present our new self-similar solution, which describes the fluid dynamics at the vicinity of the shock wave, at ultra-relativistic velocities, and all the way to the Newtonian interiors of the blast wave. I will show that beyond the first scale height behind the shock, the velocity of the outflow does not depend on the shock Lorentz factor, and that for ambient density profiles that decrease slowly enough, a secondary shock wave forms with an inflow towards the origin. I will then discuss the applicability of this work to astrophysical systems.

Created on 29-05-2022 by Zitrin, Adi (zitrin)
Updaded on 29-05-2022 by Zitrin, Adi (zitrin)