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DOE OSTI2012

EVOLUTION AND HYDRODYNAMICS OF THE VERY BROAD X-RAY LINE EMISSION IN SN 1987A

Observations of SN 1987A by the Chandra High Energy Transmission Grating (HETG) in 1999 and the XMM-Newton Reflection Grating Spectrometer (RGS) in 2003 show very broad (v-b) lines with a full width at half-maximum (FWHM) of order 10{sup 4} km s{sup -1}; at these times the blast wave (BW) was primarily interacting with the H II region around the progenitor. Since then, the X-ray emission has been increasingly dominated by narrower components as the BW encounters dense equatorial ring (ER) material. Even so, continuing v-b emission is seen in the grating spectra suggesting that the interaction with H II region material is ongoing. Based on the deep HETG 2007 and 2011 data sets, and confirmed by RGS and other HETG observations, the v-b component has a width of 9300 {+-} 2000 km s{sup -1} FWHM and contributes of order 20% of the current 0.5-2 keV flux. Guided by this result, SN 1987A's X-ray spectra are modeled as the weighted sum of the non-equilibrium-ionization emission from two simple one-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations; this '2 Multiplication-Sign 1D' model reproduces the observed radii, light curves, and spectra with a minimum of free parameters. The interaction with the H II region ({rho}{sub init} Almost-Equal-To 130 amu cm{sup -3}, {+-} 15 Degree-Sign opening angle) produces the very broad emission lines and most of the 3-10 keV flux. Our ER hydrodynamics, admittedly a crude approximation to the multi-D reality, gives ER densities of {approx}10{sup 4} amu cm{sup -3}, requires dense clumps ( Multiplication-Sign 5.5 density enhancement in {approx}30% of the volume), and predicts that the 0.5-2 keV flux will drop at a rate of {approx}17% per year once no new dense ER material is being shocked.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

COSMIC-RAY CURRENT-DRIVEN TURBULENCE AND MEAN-FIELD DYNAMO EFFECT

We show that an {alpha} effect is driven by the cosmic-ray (CR) Bell instability exciting left-right asymmetric turbulence. Alfven waves of a preferred polarization have maximally helical motion, because the transverse motion of each mode is parallel to its curl. We show how large-scale Alfven modes, when rendered unstable by CR streaming, can create new net flux over any finite region, in the direction of the original large-scale field. We perform direct numerical simulations (DNSs) of a magnetohydrodynamic fluid with a forced CR current and use the test-field method to determine the {alpha} effect and the turbulent magnetic diffusivity. As follows from DNS, the dynamics of the instability has the following stages: (1) in the early stage, the small-scale Bell instability that results in the production of small-scale turbulence is excited; (2) in the intermediate stage, there is formation of larger-scale magnetic structures; (3) finally, quasi-stationary large-scale turbulence is formed at a growth rate that is comparable to that expected from the dynamo instability, but its amplitude over much longer timescales remains unclear. The results of DNS are in good agreement with the theoretical estimates. It is suggested that this dynamo is what gives weakly magnetized relativistic shocks such as those from gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) a macroscopic correlation length. It may also be important for large-scale magnetic field amplification associated with CR production and diffusive shock acceleration in supernova remnants (SNRs) and blast waves from GRBs. Magnetic field amplification by Bell turbulence in SNRs is found to be significant, but it is limited owing to the finite time available to the super-Alfvenicly expanding remnant. The effectiveness of the mechanisms is shown to be dependent on the shock velocity. Limits on magnetic field growth in longer-lived systems, such as the Galaxy and unconfined intergalactic CRs, are also discussed.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI AS MAIN CONTRIBUTORS TO THE ULTRAVIOLET IONIZING EMISSIVITY AT HIGH REDSHIFTS: PREDICTIONS FROM A {Lambda}-CDM MODEL WITH LINKED AGN/GALAXY EVOLUTION

We have evaluated the contribution of the active galactic nuclei (AGN) population to the ionization history of the universe based on a semi-analytic model of galaxy formation and evolution in the cold dark matter cosmological scenario. The model connects the growth of black holes and of the ensuing AGN activity to galaxy interactions. In the model we have included a self-consistent physical description of the escape of ionizing UV photons; this is based on the blast-wave model for the AGN feedback we developed in a previous paper to explain the distribution of hydrogen column densities in AGNs of various redshifts and luminosities, due to absorption by the host galaxy gas. The model predicts UV luminosity functions for AGNs that are in good agreement with those derived from the observations especially at low and intermediate redshifts (z {approx} 3). At higher redshifts (z > 5), the model tends to overestimate the data at faint luminosities. Critical biases in both the data and in the model are discussed to explain such apparent discrepancies. The predicted hydrogen photoionization rate as a function of redshift is found to be consistent with that derived from the observations. All of the above suggests that we should reconsider the role of the AGNs as the main driver of the ionization history of the universe.

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DOE OSTI2012

A JET BREAK IN THE X-RAY LIGHT CURVE OF SHORT GRB 111020A: IMPLICATIONS FOR ENERGETICS AND RATES

We present broadband observations of the afterglow and environment of the short GRB 111020A. An extensive X-ray light curve from Swift/XRT, XMM-Newton, and Chandra, spanning {approx}100 s to 10 days after the burst, reveals a significant break at {delta}t Almost-Equal-To 2 days with pre- and post-break decline rates of {alpha}{sub X,1} Almost-Equal-To -0.78 and {alpha}{sub X,2} {approx}< -1.7, respectively. Interpreted as a jet break, we infer a collimated outflow with an opening angle of {theta}{sub j} Almost-Equal-To 3 Degree-Sign -8 Degree-Sign . The resulting beaming-corrected {gamma}-ray (10-1000 keV band) and blast-wave kinetic energies are (2-3) Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 48} erg and (0.3-2) Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 49} erg, respectively, with the range depending on the unknown redshift of the burst. We report a radio afterglow limit of <39 {mu}Jy (3{sigma}) from Expanded Very Large Array observations that, along with our finding that {nu}{sub c} < {nu}{sub X}, constrains the circumburst density to n{sub 0} {approx} 0.01-0.1 cm{sup -3}. Optical observations provide an afterglow limit of i {approx}> 24.4 mag at 18 hr after the burst and reveal a potential host galaxy with i Almost-Equal-To 24.3 mag. The subarcsecond localization from Chandra provides a precise offset of 0.''80 {+-} 0.''11 (1{sigma}) from this galaxy corresponding to an offset of 5-7 kpc for z 0.5-1.5. We find a high excess neutral hydrogen column density of (7.5 {+-} 2.0) Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 21} cm{sup -2} (z = 0). Our observations demonstrate that a growing fraction of short gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are collimated, which may lead to a true event rate of {approx}> 100-1000 Gpc{sup -3} yr{sup -1}, in good agreement with the NS-NS merger rate of Almost-Equal-To 200-3000 Gpc{sup -3} yr{sup -1}. This consistency is promising for coincident short GRB-gravitational wave searches in the forthcoming era of Advanced LIGO/VIRGO.

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DOE OSTI2012

PROGENITOR-EXPLOSION CONNECTION AND REMNANT BIRTH MASSES FOR NEUTRINO-DRIVEN SUPERNOVAE OF IRON-CORE PROGENITORS

We perform hydrodynamic supernova (SN) simulations in spherical symmetry for over 100 single stars of solar metallicity to explore the progenitor-explosion and progenitor-remnant connections established by the neutrino-driven mechanism. We use an approximative treatment of neutrino transport and replace the high-density interior of the neutron star (NS) by an inner boundary condition based on an analytic proto-NS core-cooling model, whose free parameters are chosen such that explosion energy, nickel production, and energy release by the compact remnant of progenitors around 20 M{sub Sun} are compatible with SN 1987A. Thus, we are able to simulate the accretion phase, initiation of the explosion, subsequent neutrino-driven wind phase for 15-20 s, and the further evolution of the blast wave for hours to days until fallback is completed. Our results challenge long-standing paradigms. We find that remnant mass, launch time, and properties of the explosion depend strongly on the stellar structure and exhibit large variability even in narrow intervals of the progenitors' zero-age main-sequence mass. While all progenitors with masses below {approx}15 M{sub Sun} yield NSs, black hole (BH) as well as NS formation is possible for more massive stars, where partial loss of the hydrogen envelope leads to weak reverse shocks and weak fallback. Our NS baryonic masses of {approx}1.2-2.0 M{sub Sun} and BH masses >6 M{sub Sun} are compatible with a possible lack of low-mass BHs in the empirical distribution. Neutrino heating accounts for SN energies between some 10{sup 50} erg and {approx}2 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 51} erg but can hardly explain more energetic explosions and nickel masses higher than 0.1-0.2 M{sub Sun }. These seem to require an alternative SN mechanism.

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DOE OSTI2012

A COMPREHENSIVE STUDY OF GAMMA-RAY BURST OPTICAL EMISSION. I. FLARES AND EARLY SHALLOW-DECAY COMPONENT

Well-sampled optical light curves of 146 gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are compiled from the literature. By empirical fitting, we identify eight possible emission components and summarize the results in a 'synthetic' light curve. Both optical flare and early shallow-decay components are likely related to long-term central engine activities. We focus on their statistical properties in this paper. Twenty-four optical flares are obtained from 19 GRBs. The isotropic R-band energy is smaller than 1% of E{sub {gamma},iso}. The relation between the isotropic luminosities of the flares and gamma rays follows L{sup F}{sub R,iso}{proportional_to}L {sup 1.11{+-}0.27}{sub {gamma},iso}. Later flares tend to be wider and dimmer, i.e., w{sup F} {approx} t{sup F}{sub p}/2 and L{sup F}{sub R,iso}{proportional_to}[t{sup F}{sub p}/(1 + z)]{sup -1.15{+-}0.15}. The detection probability of the optical flares is much smaller than that of X-ray flares. An optical shallow-decay segment is observed in 39 GRBs. The relation between the break time and break luminosity is a power law, with an index of -0.78 {+-} 0.08, similar to that derived from X-ray flares. The X-ray and optical breaks are usually chromatic, but a tentative correlation is found. We suggest that similar to the prompt optical emission that tracks {gamma}-rays, the optical flares are also related to the erratic behavior of the central engine. The shallow-decay component is likely related to a long-lasting spinning-down central engine or piling up of flare materials onto the blast wave. Mixing of different emission components may be the reason for the diverse chromatic afterglow behaviors.

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DOE OSTI2012

SPIN EVOLUTION OF MILLISECOND MAGNETARS WITH HYPERACCRETING FALLBACK DISKS: IMPLICATIONS FOR EARLY AFTERGLOWS OF GAMMA-RAY BURSTS

The shallow decay phase or plateau phase of early afterglows of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), discovered by Swift, is currently understood as being due to energy injection to a relativistic blast wave. One natural scenario for energy injection invokes a millisecond magnetar as the central engine of GRBs because the conventional model of a pulsar predicts a nearly constant magnetic-dipole-radiation luminosity within the spin-down timescale. However, we note that significant brightening occurs in some early afterglows, which apparently conflicts with the above scenario. Here we propose a new model to explain this significant brightening phenomena by considering a hyperaccreting fallback disk around a newborn millisecond magnetar. We show that for typical values of the model parameters, sufficient angular momentum of the accreted matter is transferred to the magnetar and spins it up. It is this spin-up that leads to a dramatic increase of the magnetic-dipole-radiation luminosity with time and thus significant brightening of an early afterglow. Based on this model, we carry out numerical calculations and fit well early afterglows of 12 GRBs assuming sufficiently strong fallback accretion. If the accretion is very weak, our model turns out to be the conventional energy-injection scenario of a pulsar. Therefore, our model can provide a unified explanation for the shallow decay phase, plateaus, and significant brightening of early afterglows.

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DOE OSTI2012

NUMERICAL STUDY OF THE VISHNIAC INSTABILITY IN SUPERNOVA REMNANTS

The Vishniac instability is thought to explain the complex structure of radiative supernova remnants in their Pressure-Driven Thin Shell (PDTS) phase after a blast wave (BW) has propagated from a central explosion. In this paper, the propagation of the BW and the evolution of the PDTS stage are studied numerically with the two-dimensional (2D) code HYDRO-MUSCL for a finite-thickness shell expanding in the interstellar medium (ISM). Special attention is paid to the adiabatic index, {gamma}, and three distinct values are taken for the cavity ({gamma}{sub 1}), the shell ({gamma}{sub 2}), and the ISM ({gamma}{sub 3}) with the condition {gamma}{sub 2} < {gamma}{sub 1}, {gamma}{sub 3}. This low value of {gamma}{sub 2} accounts for the high density in the shell achieved by a strong radiative cooling. Once the spherical background flow is obtained, the evolution of a 2D-axisymmetric perturbation is computed from the linear to the nonlinear regime. The overstable mechanism, previously demonstrated theoretically by E. T. Vishniac in 1983, is recovered numerically in the linear stage and is expected to produce and enhance anisotropies and clumps on the shock front, leading to the disruption of the shell in the nonlinear phase. The period of the increasing oscillations and the growth rate of the instability are derived from several points of view (the position of the perturbed shock front, mass fluxes along the shell, and density maps), and the most unstable mode differing from the value given by Vishniac is computed. In addition, the influence of several parameters (the Mach number, amplitude and wavelength of the perturbation, and adiabatic index) is examined and for wavelengths that are large enough compared to the shell thickness, the same conclusion arises: in the late stage of the evolution of the radiative supernova remnant, the instability is dampened and the angular initial deformation of the shock front is smoothed while the mass density becomes uniform with the angle. As a result, our model shows that the supernova remnant returns to a stable evolution and the Vishniac instability does not lead to the fragmentation of the shock as predicted by the theory.

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DOE OSTI2012

THE ORIGIN OF METALS IN THE CIRCUMGALACTIC MEDIUM OF MASSIVE GALAXIES AT z = 3

We present a detailed study of the metal-enriched circumgalactic medium (CGM) of a massive galaxy at z = 3 using results from 'ErisMC', a new cosmological hydrodynamic 'zoom-in' simulation of a disk galaxy with mass comparable to the Milky Way. The reference run adopts a blast wave scheme for supernova feedback that generates galactic outflows without explicit wind particles, a star formation recipe based on a high gas density threshold and high-temperature metal cooling. ErisMC's main progenitor at z = 3 resembles a 'Lyman break' galaxy of total mass M {sub vir} = 2.4 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 11} M {sub Sun }, virial radius R {sub vir} = 48 kpc, and star formation rate 18 M {sub Sun} yr{sup -1}, and its metal-enriched CGM extends as far as 200 (physical) kpc from its center. Approximately 41%, 9%, and 50% of all gas-phase metals at z = 3 are locked in a hot (T > 3 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 5} K), warm (3 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 5} K > T > 3 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 4} K), and cold (T < 3 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 4} K) medium, respectively. We identify three sources of heavy elements: (1) the main host, responsible for 60% of all the metals found within 3 R {sub vir}; (2) its satellite progenitors, which shed their metals before and during infall, and are responsible for 28% of all the metals within 3 R {sub vir}, and for only 5% of those beyond 3 R {sub vir}; and (3) nearby dwarfs, which give origin to 12% of all the metals within 3 R {sub vir} and 95% of those beyond 3 R {sub vir}. Late (z < 5) galactic 'superwinds'-the result of recent star formation in ErisMC-account for only 9% of all the metals observed beyond 2 R {sub vir}, the bulk having been released at redshifts 5 {approx}< z {approx}< 8 by early star formation and outflows. In the CGM, lower overdensities are typically enriched by 'older', colder metals. Heavy elements are accreted onto ErisMC along filaments via low-metallicity cold inflows and are ejected hot via galactic outflows at a few hundred km s{sup -1}. The outflow mass-loading factor is of order unity for the main halo, but can exceed a value of 10 for nearby dwarfs. We stress that our 'zoom-in' simulation focuses on the CGM of a single massive system and cannot describe the enrichment history of the intergalactic medium as a whole by a population of galaxies with different masses and star formation histories.

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DOE OSTI2012

THE UNUSUAL TEMPORAL AND SPECTRAL EVOLUTION OF SN2011ht. II. PECULIAR TYPE IIn OR IMPOSTOR?

SN2011ht has been described both as a true supernova (SN) and as an impostor. In this paper, we conclude that it does not match some basic expectations for a core-collapse event. We discuss SN2011ht's spectral evolution from a hot dense wind to a cool dense wind, followed by the post-plateau appearance of a faster low density wind during a rapid decline in luminosity. We identify a slow dense wind expanding at only 500-600 km s{sup -1}, present throughout the eruption. A faster wind speed V {approx} 900 km s{sup -1} occurred in a second phase of the outburst. There is no direct or significant evidence for any flow speed above 1000 km s{sup -1}; the broad asymmetric wings of Balmer emission lines in the hot wind phase were due to Thomson scattering, not bulk motion. We estimate a mass-loss rate of order 0.05 M {sub Sun} yr{sup -1} during the hot dense wind phase of the event. The same calculations present difficulties for a hypothetical unseen SN blast wave. There is no evidence that the kinetic energy greatly exceeded the luminous energy, roughly 3 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 49} erg; so the radiative plus kinetic energy was small compared to a typical SN. We suggest that SN2011ht may have been a giant eruption driven by super-Eddington radiation pressure, perhaps beginning a few months before the discovery. A strongly non-spherical SN might also account for the data at the cost of more free parameters.

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DOE OSTI2012

PROBING THE STRUCTURE OF THE OUTFLOW IN THE TIDAL DISRUPTION FLARE Sw J1644+57 WITH LONG-TERM RADIO EMISSION

The recently discovered high-energy transient Sw J1644+57 is thought to arise from the tidal disruption of a passing star by a dormant massive black hole. The long-term, bright radio emission of Sw J1644+57 is believed to result from the synchrotron emission of the blast wave produced by an outflow expanding into the surrounding medium. Using the detailed multi-epoch radio spectral data, we are able to determine the total number of radiating electrons in the outflow at different times, and further the evolution of the cross section of the outflow with time. We find that the outflow gradually transits from a conical jet to a cylindrical one at later times. The transition may be due to collimation of the outflow by the pressure of the shocked jet cocoon that forms while the outflow is propagating in the ambient medium. Since cylindrical jets usually exist in active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and extragalactic jets, this may provide independent evidence that Sw J1644+57 signals the onset of an AGN.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

A CR-HYDRO-NEI MODEL OF MULTI-WAVELENGTH EMISSION FROM THE VELA JR. SUPERNOVA REMNANT (SNR RX J0852.0-4622)

Based largely on energy budget considerations and the observed cosmic-ray (CR) ionic composition, supernova remnant (SNR) blast waves are the most likely sources of CR ions with energies at least up to the 'knee' near 10{sup 15} eV. Shocks in young shell-type TeV-bright SNRs are surely producing TeV particles, but the emission could be dominated by ions producing {pi}{sup 0}-decay emission or electrons producing inverse Compton gamma rays. Unambiguously identifying the GeV-TeV emission process in a particular SNR will not only help pin down the origin of CRs, it will also add significantly to our understanding of the diffusive shock acceleration (DSA) mechanism and improve our understanding of supernovae and the impact SNRs have on the circumstellar medium. In this study, we investigate the Vela Jr. SNR, an example of TeV-bright non-thermal SNRs. We perform hydrodynamic simulations coupled with nonlinear DSA and non-equilibrium ionization near the forward shock to confront currently available multi-wavelength data. We find, with an analysis similar to that used earlier for SNR RX J1713.7-3946, that self-consistently modeling the thermal X-ray line emission with the non-thermal continuum in our one-dimensional model strongly constrains the fitting parameters, and this leads convincingly to a leptonic origin for the GeV-TeV emission for Vela Jr. This conclusion is further supported by applying additional constraints from observation, including the radial brightness profiles of the SNR shell in TeV gamma rays, and the spatial variation of the X-ray synchrotron spectral index. We will discuss implications of our models on future observations by the next-generation telescopes.

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DOE OSTI2013

GAMMA-RAY BURST AFTERGLOW LIGHT CURVES FROM A LORENTZ-BOOSTED SIMULATION FRAME AND THE SHAPE OF THE JET BREAK

The early stages of decelerating gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglow jets have been notoriously difficult to resolve numerically using two-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations even at very high resolution, due to the extreme thinness of the blast wave and high outflow Lorentz factors. However, these resolution issues can be avoided by performing the simulations in a boosted frame, which makes it possible to calculate afterglow light curves from numerically computed flows in sufficient detail to accurately quantify the shape of the jet break and the post-break steepening of the light curve. Here, we study afterglow jet breaks for jets with opening angles of 0.05, 0.1, and 0.2 radians decelerating in a surrounding medium of constant density, observed at various angles ranging from on-axis to the edge of the jet. A single set of scale-invariant functions describing the time evolution of afterglow synchrotron spectral break frequencies and peak flux, depending only on jet opening angle and observer angle, are all that is needed to reconstruct light curves for arbitrary explosion energy, circumburst density and synchrotron particle distribution power law slope p. These functions are presented in the paper. Their time evolutions change directly following the jet break, although an earlier reported temporary post-break steepening of the cooling break is found to have been resolution-induced. We compare synthetic light curves to fit functions using sharp power law breaks as well as smooth power law transitions. We confirm our earlier finding that the measured jet break time is very sensitive to the angle of the observer and can be postponed significantly. We find that the difference in temporal indices across the jet break is larger than theoretically anticipated and is about -(0.5 + 0.5p) below the cooling break and about -(0.25 + 0.5p) above the cooling break, both leading to post-break slopes of roughly about 0.25 - 1.3p, although different observer angles, jet opening angles and heuristic descriptions of the break introduce a wide range of temporal indices. Nevertheless, the post-break slope from our constant density interstellar medium simulations is sufficiently steep to be hard to reconcile with post-break slopes measured for the Swift sample, suggesting that Swift GRBs mostly do not explode in a homogeneous medium or that the jet breaks are hidden from view by additional physics such as prolonged energy injection or viewing angle effects. A comparison between different smooth power law fit functions shows that although smooth power law transitions of the type introduced by Harrison et al. often provide better fits, smooth power law transitions of the type introduced by Beuermann et al. or even sharp power law fits are easier to interpret in terms of the underlying model. Light curves and spectral break and peak flux evolution functions will be made publicly available online at http://cosmo.nyu.edu/afterglowlibrary.

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DOE OSTI2013

DYNAMICS OF ASTROPHYSICAL BUBBLES AND BUBBLE-DRIVEN SHOCKS: BASIC THEORY, ANALYTICAL SOLUTIONS, AND OBSERVATIONAL SIGNATURES

Bubbles in the interstellar medium are produced by astrophysical sources, which continuously or explosively deposit large amounts of energy into the ambient medium. These expanding bubbles can drive shocks in front of them, the dynamics of which is markedly different from the widely used Sedov-von Neumann-Taylor blast wave solution. Here, we present the theory of a bubble-driven shock and show how its properties and evolution are determined by the temporal history of the source energy output, generally referred to as the source luminosity law, L(t). In particular, we find the analytical solutions for a driven shock in two cases: the self-similar scaling law, L{proportional_to}(t/t{sub s} ) {sup p} (with p and t{sub s} being constants) and the finite activity time case, L{proportional_to}(1 - t/t{sub s} ){sup -p}. The latter with p > 0 describes a finite-time-singular behavior, which is relevant to a wide variety of systems with explosive-type energy release. For both luminosity laws, we derived the conditions needed for the driven shock to exist and predict the shock observational signatures. Our results can be relevant to stellar systems with strong winds, merging neutron star/magnetar/black hole systems, and massive stars evolving to supernovae explosions.

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DOE OSTI2013

SPATIALLY RESOLVED SPECTROSCOPY OF A PULSAR WIND NEBULA IN MSH 15-56

We report the study of a pulsar wind nebula (PWN) in the middle-aged supernova remnant (SNR) MSH 15-56. High-resolution X-ray imaging observations using XMM-Newton and Chandra provided clear images of its comet-like structure, as seen in other PWNe moving rapidly through interstellar mediums. At the PWN apex, Chandra detected a point source emitting a power-law spectrum with a photon index of {Gamma} = 1.3. The photon index of the PWN steepens from 1.7 to 2.5 along the flow line from the apex toward the tail, implying that the PWN is powered by the point source. The opening angle of the tail implies a pulsar velocity of v{sub PSR} = 1900 km s{sup -1}. We also discovered a thin X-ray filament at the edge of the SNR and just near the PWN. Assuming that the SNR is in the Sedov phase, the shell is expanding at 860 km s{sup -1}, which is consistent with the existence of the non-thermal filament. Based on the physical relationship, the PWN will run through the blast wave in the near future.

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DOE OSTI2013

ANTI-PHASE SIGNATURE OF FLARE GENERATED TRANSVERSE LOOP OSCILLATIONS

Transverse loop oscillations observed by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly instrument on the Solar Dynamics Observatory spacecraft are studied after an impulsive solar flare eruption on 2012 May 8. We have found that a transversely oscillating coronal loop seen in the 171 A bandpass oscillates in anti-phase with respect to adjacent larger loops seen in the 193 A and 211 A bandpasses. These unusual oscillations are analyzed to investigate the excitation mechanism responsible for their initial inwardly directed anti-phase behavior. The transverse oscillations are analyzed by constructing space-time diagrams from cuts made parallel to the projected loop displacements. The displacement time oscillation profiles are background subtracted and fitted with a damped cosine curve that includes a linear change in the period with time. The local magnetic topology of the active region is modeled using potential field source surface extrapolation. It reveals that the loops are anchored in different topological regions with foot point locations identified on either side of the EUV flare peak emission source. In this context, the oscillation characteristics indicate that the excitation mechanism is closely linked to the local magnetic field topology and the reconnection generated wave dynamics in the active region rather than following an external flare blast wave. We discuss how observations such as these may serve to identify reconnection processes in similar quadrupolar active regions.

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DOE OSTI2013

THE BIGGEST EXPLOSIONS IN THE UNIVERSE

Supermassive primordial stars are expected to form in a small fraction of massive protogalaxies in the early universe, and are generally conceived of as the progenitors of the seeds of supermassive black holes (BHs). Supermassive stars with masses of ∼55, 000 M{sub ☉}, however, have been found to explode and completely disrupt in a supernova (SN) with an energy of up to ∼10{sup 55} erg instead of collapsing to a BH. Such events, ∼10, 000 times more energetic than typical SNe today, would be among the biggest explosions in the history of the universe. Here we present a simulation of such a SN in two stages. Using the RAGE radiation hydrodynamics code, we first evolve the explosion from an early stage through the breakout of the shock from the surface of the star until the blast wave has propagated out to several parsecs from the explosion site, which lies deep within an atomic cooling dark matter (DM) halo at z ≅ 15. Then, using the GADGET cosmological hydrodynamics code, we evolve the explosion out to several kiloparsecs from the explosion site, far into the low-density intergalactic medium. The host DM halo, with a total mass of 4 × 10{sup 7} M{sub ☉}, much more massive than typical primordial star-forming halos, is completely evacuated of high-density gas after ∼< 10 Myr, although dense metal-enriched gas recollapses into the halo, where it will likely form second-generation stars with metallicities of ≅ 0.05 Z{sub ☉} after ∼> 70 Myr. The chemical signature of supermassive star explosions may be found in such long-lived second-generation stars today.

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DOE OSTI2013

MONTE CARLO SIMULATIONS OF NONLINEAR PARTICLE ACCELERATION IN PARALLEL TRANS-RELATIVISTIC SHOCKS

We present results from a Monte Carlo simulation of a parallel collisionless shock undergoing particle acceleration. Our simulation, which contains parameterized scattering and a particular thermal leakage injection model, calculates the feedback between accelerated particles ahead of the shock, which influence the shock precursor and 'smooth' the shock, and thermal particle injection. We show that there is a transition between nonrelativistic shocks, where the acceleration efficiency can be extremely high and the nonlinear compression ratio can be substantially greater than the Rankine-Hugoniot value, and fully relativistic shocks, where diffusive shock acceleration is less efficient and the compression ratio remains at the Rankine-Hugoniot value. This transition occurs in the trans-relativistic regime and, for the particular parameters we use, occurs around a shock Lorentz factor γ{sub 0} = 1.5. We also find that nonlinear shock smoothing dramatically reduces the acceleration efficiency presumed to occur with large-angle scattering in ultra-relativistic shocks. Our ability to seamlessly treat the transition from ultra-relativistic to trans-relativistic to nonrelativistic shocks may be important for evolving relativistic systems, such as gamma-ray bursts and Type Ibc supernovae. We expect a substantial evolution of shock accelerated spectra during this transition from soft early on to much harder when the blast-wave shock becomes nonrelativistic.

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