SUPERNOVA 1987A: THE IMPACT

In collaboration with Kazik Borkowski and Dick McCray, we are extending our study of the impact of the blastwave from SN1987A with the circumstellar ring observed by HST. We are in the process of creating a more realistic model of the blastwave in the following steps:
  1. Evolving a self-similar driven wave with s=0 and n=8.6 to fully develop the convective instability expected behind the shockwave.
  2. Running the evolved SSDW into a reverse wind shock at a distance roughly one-half the distance to the inner ring.
  3. Running this final blastwave into the HST ring.

This density image shows the fully saturated convective instability in the self-similar driven wave.













This density image shows the blastwave after it has encountered the reverse wind shock, and just before it hits the HST ring.