Modeling SNR Cassiopeia A from the Supernova Explosion to its Current Age: The role of post-explosion anisotropies of ejecta

The remnants of core-collapse supernovae (SNe) have complex morphologies that may reflect asymmetries and structures developed during the progenitor SN explosion. Here we investigate how the morphology of the SNR Cassiopeia A (Cas A) reflects the characteristics of the progenitor SN with the aim to derive the energies and masses of the post-explosion anisotropies responsible for the observed spatial distribution of Fe and Si/S. We model the evolution of Cas A from the immediate aftermath of the progenitor SN to the three-dimensional interaction of the remnant with the surrounding medium. The post-explosion structure of the ejecta is described by small-scale clumping of material and larger-scale anisotropies. The hydrodynamic multi-species simulations consider an appropriate post-explosion isotopic composition of the ejecta. The observed average expansion rate and shock velocities can be well reproduced by models with ejecta mass $M_{\rm ej}\approx 4M_{\odot}$ and explosion energy $E_{\rm SN}\approx 2.3\times 10^{51}$ erg. The post-explosion anisotropies (pistons) reproduce the observed distributions of Fe and Si/S if they had a total mass of $\approx 0.25\,M_{\odot}$ and a total kinetic energy of $\approx 1.5\times 10^{50}$ erg. The pistons produce a spatial inversion of ejecta layers at the epoch of Cas A, leading to the Si/S-rich ejecta physically interior to the Fe-rich ejecta. The pistons are also responsible for the development of bright rings of Si/S-rich material which form at the intersection between the reverse shock and the material accumulated around the pistons during their propagation. Our result supports the idea that the bulk of asymmetries observed in Cas A are intrinsic to the explosion.Comment: 19 pages, 14 Figures; accepted for publication on Ap

Supernova 1987A: a Template to Link Supernovae to their Remnants

The emission of supernova remnants reflects the properties of both the progenitor supernovae and the surrounding environment. The complex morphology of the remnants, however, hampers the disentanglement of the two contributions. Here we aim at identifying the imprint of SN 1987A on the X-ray emission of its remnant and at constraining the structure of the environment surrounding the supernova. We performed high-resolution hydrodynamic simulations describing SN 1987A soon after the core-collapse and the following three-dimensional expansion of its remnant between days 1 and 15000 after the supernova. We demonstrated that the physical model reproducing the main observables of SN 1987A during the first 250 days of evolution reproduces also the X-ray emission of the subsequent expanding remnant, thus bridging the gap between supernovae and supernova remnants. By comparing model results with observations, we constrained the explosion energy in the range $1.2-1.4\times 10^{51}$~erg and the envelope mass in the range $15-17 M_{\odot}$. We found that the shape of X-ray lightcurves and spectra at early epochs (<15 years) reflects the structure of outer ejecta: our model reproduces the observations if the outermost ejecta have a post-explosion radial profile of density approximated by a power law with index $\alpha = -8$. At later epochs, the shapes of X-ray lightcurves and spectra reflect the density structure of the nebula around SN 1987A. This enabled us to ascertain the origin of the multi-thermal X-ray emission, to disentangle the imprint of the supernova on the remnant emission from the effects of the remnant interaction with the environment, and to constrain the pre-supernova structure of the nebula.Comment: 16 pages, 11 Figures; accepted for publication on Ap

Shape invariance through Crum transformation

We show in a rigorous way that Crum's result on equal eigenvalue spectrum of Sturm-Liouville problems can be obtained iteratively by successive Darboux transformations. It can be shown that all neighbouring Darboux-transformed potentials of higher order, u_{k} and u_{k+1}, satisfy the condition of shape invariance provided the original potential u does. We use this result to proof that under the condition of shape invariance the n-th iteration of the original Sturm-Liouville problem defined through shape invariance is equal to the n-th Crum transformationComment: 26 pp, one more reference, J.-M. Sparenberg and D. Baye, J. Phys. A 28, 5079 (1995), has been added as Ref. 18 in the published version, which has 47 ref

Spin-Electron-Phonon Excitation in Re-based Half-Metallic Double Perovskites

A remarkable hardening (~ 30 cm-1) of the normal mode of vibration associated with the symmetric stretching of the oxygen octahedra for the Ba2FeReO6 and Sr2CrReO6 double perovskites is observed below the corresponding magnetic ordering temperatures. The very large magnitude of this effect and its absence for the anti-symmetric stretching mode provide evidence against a conventional spin-phonon coupling mechanism. Our observations are consistent with a collective excitation formed by the combination of the vibrational mode with oscillations of local Fe or Cr 3d and Re 5d occupations and spin magnitudes.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figure

Resistivity study of the pseudogap phase for (Hg,Re) - 1223 superconductors

The pseudogap phase above the critical temperature of high $T_{c}$ superconductors (HTSC) presents different energy scales and it is currently a matter of intense study. The complexity of the HTSC normal state requires very accurate measurements with the purpose of distinguishing different types of phenomena. Here we have performed systematically studies through electrical resistivity ($\rho$) measurements by several different current densities in order to obtain an optimal current for each sample. This approach allows to determine reliable values of the pseudogap temperature $T^{*}(n)$, the layer coupling temperature between the superconductor layers $T_{LD}(n)$, the fluctuation temperature $T_{scf}(n)$ and the critical temperature $T_{c}(n)$ as function of the doping $n$. The interpretation of these different temperature scales allows to characterize possible scenarios for the (Hg,Re) - 1223 normal state. This method, described in detail here, and used to derive the (Hg,Re)-1223 phase diagram is general and can be applied to any HTSC.Comment: 31 pages, 12 figures, Latex; 25 pages, LaTeX; 11 figures; rewrited section II and III; added 18 reference; rewrited title, added discussion sectio

An Investigation of the KFK_{F}-type Lorentz-Symmetry Breaking Gauge Models in N=1N=1-Supersymmetric Scenario

In this work, we present two possible venues to accomodate the $K_{F}$-type Lorentz-symmetry violating Electrodynamics in an $N=1$-supersymmetric framework. A chiral and a vector superfield are chosen to describe the background that signals Lorentz-symmetry breaking. In each case, the $\ K_{\mu \nu \kappa \lambda }$-tensor is expressed in terms of the components of the background superfield that we choose to describe the breaking. We also present in detail the actions with all fermionic partners of the background that determine $\ K_{\mu \nu \kappa \lambda }$.Comment: 10 page

Radiative accretion shocks along nonuniform stellar magnetic fields in classical T Tauri stars

(abridged) AIMS. We investigate the dynamics and stability of post-shock plasma streaming along nonuniform stellar magnetic fields at the impact region of accretion columns. We study how the magnetic field configuration and strength determine the structure, geometry, and location of the shock-heated plasma. METHODS. We model the impact of an accretion stream onto the chromosphere of a CTTS by 2D axisymmetric magnetohydrodynamic simulations. Our model takes into account the gravity, the radiative cooling, and the magnetic-field-oriented thermal conduction. RESULTS. The structure, stability, and location of the shocked plasma strongly depend on the configuration and strength of the magnetic field. For weak magnetic fields, a large component of B may develop perpendicular to the stream at the base of the accretion column, limiting the sinking of the shocked plasma into the chromosphere. An envelope of dense and cold chromospheric material may also develop around the shocked column. For strong magnetic fields, the field configuration determines the position of the shock and its stand-off height. If the field is strongly tapered close to the chromosphere, an oblique shock may form well above the stellar surface. In general, a nonuniform magnetic field makes the distribution of emission measure vs. temperature of the shocked plasma lower than in the case of uniform magnetic field. CONCLUSIONS. The initial strength and configuration of the magnetic field in the impact region of the stream are expected to influence the chromospheric absorption and, therefore, the observability of the shock-heated plasma in the X-ray band. The field strength and configuration influence also the energy balance of the shocked plasma, its emission measure at T > 1 MK being lower than expected for a uniform field. The above effects contribute in underestimating the mass accretion rates derived in the X-ray band.Comment: 11 pages, 11 Figures; accepted for publication on A&A. Version with full resolution images can be found at http://www.astropa.unipa.it/~orlando/PREPRINTS/sorlando_accretion_shocks.pd