Featured Image: Modeling Supernova Remnants

This image shows a computer simulation of the hydrodynamics within a supernova remnant. The mixing between the outer layers (where color represents the log of density) is caused by turbulence from the Rayleigh-Taylor instability, an effect that arises when the expanding core gas of the supernova is accelerated into denser shell gas. The past standard for supernova-evolution simulations was to perform them in one dimension and then, in post-processing, manually smooth out regions that undergo Rayleigh-Taylor turbulence (an intrinsically multidimensional effect). But in a recent study, Paul Duffell (University of California, Berkeley) has explored how a 1D model could be used to reproduce the multidimensional dynamics that occur in turbulence from this instability. For more information, check out the paper below!

Citation

Paul C. Duffell 2016 ApJ 821 76. doi:10.3847/0004-637X/821/2/76