Laboratory simulation of the collision of supernova 1987A with its circumstellar ring nebula

Abstract

The collision of the remnant of supernova 1987A with its circumstellar ring is laboratory-simulated by using the Gekko XII laser fusion facility at the Institute of Laser Engineering, Osaka University. The pure hydrodynamic approximation was applied using the invariance of the Euler equations. The basic properties of the formation of a young supernova remnant and its collision with the ring are illustrated. Shock wave propagation and plasma flow with triple wavy, vortex ringlike structures were observed using gated X-ray shadowgraphy. The observed hydrodynamic behaviors compare favorably with one- and two-dimensional numerical simulations and further illustrate important qualitative trends. Our experiments suggest the shock reverberation between the ring and the contact discontinuity in the supernova remnant 1987A and resultant oscillation and enhancement of X-ray emission, as well as the emergence of downstream vortex structures. (C) 2001 MAIK "Nauka/Interperiodica".