Shock temperatures in anorthite glass

Summary. Temperatures of CaAl₂Si₂O₈ (anorthite glass) shocked to pressures between 48 and 117 GPa have been measured in the range from 2500 to 5600 K, using optical pyrometry techniques. The pressure dependence of the shock temperatures deviates significantly from predictions based on a single high-pressure phase. Either a variable specific heat, or the existence of three phase transitions, at pressures of about 55, 85 and 100 GPa and with transition energies of about 0.5 MJ kg⁻¹ each (∼ 1.5 MJ kg⁻¹ total) can explain the shock-temperature data. The proposed phase transition at 100 GPa can possibly be identified with the stishovite melting transition. Theoretical models of the time dependence of the thermal radiation from the shocked anorthite based on the geometry of the experiment and the absorptive properties of the shocked material yield good agreement with observations, indicating that it is not necessary to invoke intrinsic time dependences to explain the data in many cases. Observed time dependences were used to calculate absorption coefficients of the shocked material of from about 2 mm⁻¹ to greater than 24 mm⁻¹– an increasing function of shock pressure. The assumption that the shocked material radiates as a black body is supported by the theoretical model, and by the close agreement between measured and calculated black body spectral radiance as a function of wavelength.     

Gamma—Ray Bursts：Afterglows and Central Engines

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are the most intense transient gamma-ray events in the sky; this, together with the strong evidence (the isotropic and inhomogeneous distribution of GRBs detected by BASTE) that they are located at cosmological distances, makes them the most energetic events ever known. For example, the observed radiation energies of some GRBs are equivalent to the total convertion into radiation of the mass energy of more than one solar mass. This is thousand times stronger than the energy of a supernova explosion. Some unconventional energy mechanism and extremely high conversion efficiency for these mysterious events are required. The discovery of host galaxies and association with supernovae at cosmoligical distances by the recently launched satellite of BeppoSAX and ground based radio and optical telescopes in GRB afterglow provides further support to the cosmological origin of GRBs and put strong constraints on their central engine. It is the aim of this article to review the possible central engines, energy mechanisms, dynamical and spectral evolution of GRBs, especially focusing on the afterglows in multi-wavebands.     

Photoionized Regions Around Supernova Remnants

The radiation produced by the gas cooling behind a fast supernova remnant shock in the interstellar medium is capable of ionizing the undisturbed medium ahead of the shock wave. In this work I investigate the nonequilibrium evolution of these photoionized precursor regions by means of radiation-hydrodynamic simulations of supernova remnant evolution. This revised version was published online in September 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

A two‐step Taylor–Galerkin algorithm applied to shock wave propagation in soils

This paper presents a two‐step Taylor–Galerkin algorithm formulated in terms of velocities and stresses which can be applied to solid dynamics problems requiring good resolution of small wavelengths, such as propagation of shocks. The proposed model is both fast, as it uses simple linear elements (triangles in 2D and tetrahedra in 3D), and accurate. It avoids locking and mesh alignment problems, and therefore can be applied to localized failure computations without the limitations exhibited by the classical displacement formulations. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

In-situ particle acceleration in extragalactic radio hot spots: observations meet expectations

We discuss, in terms of particle acceleration, the results from optical VLT observations of hot spots associated with radio galaxies. On the basis of observational and theoretical grounds, the following is shown. (i) Relatively low radio-radio power hot spots are the optimum candidates for being detected at optical waves. This is supported by an unprecedented optical detection rate of 70 per cent out of a sample of low radio power hot spots. (ii) The shape of the synchrotron spectrum of hot spots is mainly determined by the strength of the magnetic field in the region. In particular, the break frequency, related to the age of the oldest electrons in the hot spots, is found to increase with decreasing synchrotron power and magnetic field strength. Both observational results are in agreement with an in-situ particle acceleration scenario.     

Astrophysical boosters

Constraints are derived on the acceleration of charges in shocks to highly relativistic energies. When applied to the extended extragalactic radio sources and to the cosmic rays, they cast doubt on the mechanism of ‘in-situ acceleration’, both for energy, entropy and statistical mechanics reasons.     

Possible crossing of the termination shock in the solar wind by the Voyager 1 spacecraft

The solution of the classical problem of two-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) interaction between two shocks (the angle between the interacting shocks and the slope of the magnetic field are arbitrary) obtained by Pushkar' (1995) is applied to the problem of interaction between interplanetary shocks and the solar wind termination shock (TS). The self-consistent kinetic-gasdynamic model of solar wind interaction with the supersonic flow of a three-component (electrons, protons, and hydrogen atoms) interstellar medium developed for the axisymmetric, steady-state case by Baranov and Malama (1993) is used as the stationary background against which the physical phenomenon under consideration takes place. The main physical process in this model is the resonant charge exchange between protons and hydrogen atoms. This paper is a natural continuation of our previous papers (Baranov et al. 1996a, 1996b). However, whereas attention in these papers was focused on the TS interaction with an interplanetary forward shock moving away from the Sun, here we consider the TS interaction with an interplanetary reverse shock (RS) moving toward the Sun with a velocity lower than the solar-wind velocity. We show that the TS-RS interaction can give rise to a new TS' that moves toward the Sun, i.e., toward Voyager 1 and Voyager 2. This phenomenon may be responsible for the unexpected suggestion made by some of the scientists that Voyager 1 already crossed TS in the past year. This conclusion was drawn from the interpretation of the intensity, energy spectra, and angular distributions of ions in the energy range from 10 keV to 40 MeV measured from this spacecraft. Our results show that Voyager 1 could cross TS' rather than TS.     

Time-dependent simulations of steady C-type shocks

Using a time-dependent multifluid, magnetohydrodynamic code, we calculated the structure of steady perpendicular and oblique C-type shocks in dusty plasmas. We included relevant processes to describe mass transfer between the different fluids, radiative cooling by emission lines and grain charging, and studied the effect of single- and multiple-sized grains on the shock structure. Our models are the first of oblique fast-mode molecular shocks in which such a rigorous treatment of the dust grain dynamics has been combined with a self-consistent calculation of the thermal and ionization structures including appropriate microphysics. At low densities, the grains do not play any significant rôle in the shock dynamics. At high densities, the ionization fraction is sufficiently low that dust grains are important charge and current carriers and, thus, determine the shock structure. We find that the magnetic field in the shock front has a significant rotation out of the initial upstream plane. This is most pronounced for single-sized grains and small angles of the shock normal with the magnetic field. Our results are similar to previous studies of steady C-type shocks showing that our method is efficient, rigorous and robust. Unlike the method employed in the previous most detailed treatment of dust in steady oblique fast-mode shocks, ours allow a reliable calculation even when chemical or other conditions deviate from local statistical equilibrium. We are also able to model transient phenomena.     

A structure and energy dissipation efficiency of relativistic reconfinement shocks

We present a semi-analytical hydrodynamical model for the structure of reconfinement shocks formed in astrophysical relativistic jets interacting with external medium. We take into account exact conservation laws, both across the shock front and in the zone of the shocked matter, and exact angular relations. Our results confirm a good accuracy of the approximate formulae derived by Komissarov & Falle. However, including the transverse pressure gradient in the shocked jet, we predict an absolute size of the shock to be about twice larger. We calculate the efficiency of the kinetic energy dissipation in the shock and show a strong dependence on both the bulk Lorentz factor and opening angle of the jet.