Hydrodynamic ablation of protoplanetary disks via supernovae

We present three-dimensional simulations of a protoplanetary disc subject to the effect of a nearby (0.3 pc distant) supernova (SN), using a time-dependent flow from a one-dimensional numerical model of the supernova remnant (SNR), in addition to constant peak ram pressure simulations. Simulations are performed for a variety of disc masses and inclination angles. We find disc mass-loss rates that are typically 10−7–10−6 M yr−1 (but they peak near 10−5 M yr−1 during the ‘instantaneous’ stripping phase) and are sustained for around 200 yr. Inclination angle has little effect on the mass-loss unless the disc is close to edge-on. Inclined discs also strip asymmetrically with the trailing edge ablating more easily. Since the interaction lasts less than one outer rotation period, there is not enough time for the disc to restore its symmetry, leaving the disc asymmetrical after the flow has passed. Of the low-mass discs considered, only the edge-on disc is able to survive interaction with the SNR (with 50 per cent of its initial mass remaining). At the end of the simulations, discs that survive contain fractional masses of SN material up to 5 × 10−6. This is too low to explain the abundance of short-lived radionuclides in the early Solar system, but a larger disc and the inclusion of radiative cooling might allow the disc to capture a higher fraction of SN material

A comparison of shock-cloud and wind-cloud interactions: the longer survival of clouds in winds

The interaction of a hot, high-velocity wind with a cold, dense molecular cloud has often been assumed to resemble the evolution of a cloud embedded in a post-shock flow. However, no direct comparative study of these two processes currently exists in the literature. We present 2D adiabatic hydrodynamical simulations of the interaction of a Mach 10 shock with a cloud of density contrast χ = 10 and compare our results with those of a commensurate wind-cloud simulation. We then investigate the effect of varying the wind velocity, effectively altering the wind Mach number Mwind, on the cloud's evolution. We find that there are significant differences between the two processes: 1) the transmitted shock is much flatter in the shock-cloud interaction; 2) a low-pressure region in the wind-cloud case deflects the flow around the edge of the cloud in a different manner to the shock-cloud case; 3) there is far more axial compression of the cloud in the case of the shock. As Mwind increases, the normalized rate of mixing is reduced. Clouds in winds with higher Mwind also do not experience a transmitted shock through the cloud's rear and are more compressed axially. In contrast with shock-cloud simulations, the cloud mixing time normalized by the cloud-crushing time-scale tcc increases for increasing Mwind until it plateaus (at tmix ≃ 25 tcc) at high Mwind, thus demonstrating the expected Mach scaling. In addition, clouds in high Mach number winds are able to survive for long durations and are capable of being moved considerable distances

The interaction of a magnetohydrodynamical shock with a filament

We present 3D magnetohydrodynamic numerical simulations of the adiabatic interaction of a shock with a dense, filamentary cloud. We investigate the effects of various filament lengths and orientations on the interaction using different orientations of the magnetic field, and vary the Mach number of the shock, the density contrast of the filament χ, and the plasma beta, in order to determine their effect on the evolution and lifetime of the filament. We find that in a parallel magnetic field filaments have longer lifetimes if they are orientated more ‘broadside’ to the shock front, and that an increase in χ hastens the destruction of the cloud, in terms of the modified cloud-crushing time-scale, tcs. The combination of a mild shock and a perpendicular or oblique field provides the best condition for extending the life of the filament, with some filaments able to survive almost indefinitely since they are cocooned by the magnetic field. A high value for χ does not initiate large turbulent instabilities in either the perpendicular or oblique field cases but rather draws the filament out into long tendrils which may eventually fragment. In addition, flux ropes are only formed in parallel magnetic fields. The length of the filament is, however, not as important for the evolution and destruction of a filament

The isothermal evolution of a shock-filament interaction

Studies of filamentary structures that are prevalent throughout the interstellar medium are of great significance to a number of astrophysical fields. Here, we present 3D hydrodynamic simulations of shock-filament interactions where the equation of state has been softened to become almost isothermal. We investigate the effect of such an isothermal regime on the interaction (where both the shock and filament are isothermal), and we examine how the nature of the interaction changes when the orientation of the filament, the shock Mach number, and the filament density contrast are varied. We find that only sideways-oriented filaments with a density contrast of 102 form a three-rolled structure, dissimilar to the results of a previous study. Moreover, the angle of orientation of the filament plays a large role in the evolution of the filament morphology: the greater the angle of orientation, the longer and less turbulent the wake. Turbulent stripping of filament material leading to fragmentation of the core occurs in most filaments; however, filaments orientated at an angle of 85° to the shock front do not fragment and are longer lived. In addition, values of the drag time are influenced by the filament length, with longer filaments being accelerated faster than shorter ones. Furthermore, filaments in an isothermal regime exhibit faster acceleration than those struck by an adiabatic shock. Finally, we find that the drag and mixing times of the filament increase as the angle of orientation of the filament is increased

A comparison of shock-cloud and wind-cloud interactions: effect of increased cloud density contrast on cloud evolution

The similarities, or otherwise, of a shock or wind interacting with a cloud of density contrast χ = 10 were explored in a previous paper. Here, we investigate such interactions with clouds of higher density contrast. We compare the adiabatic hydrodynamic interaction of a Mach 10 shock with a spherical cloud of χ = 10^3 with that of a cloud embedded in a wind with identical parameters to the post-shock flow. We find that initially there are only minor morphological differences between the shock–cloud and wind–cloud interactions, compared to when χ = 10. However, once the transmitted shock exits the cloud, the development of a turbulent wake and fragmentation of the cloud differs between the two simulations. On increasing the wind Mach number, we note the development of a thin, smooth tail of cloud material, which is then disrupted by the fragmentation of the cloud core and subsequent ‘mass-loading’ of the flow. We find that the normalized cloud mixing time (tmix) is shorter at higher χ. However, a strong Mach number dependence on tmix and the normalized cloud drag time, tdrag, is not observed. Mach-number-dependent values of tmix and tdrag from comparable shock–cloud interactions converge towards the Mach-number-independent time-scales of the wind–cloud simulations. We find that high χ clouds can be accelerated up to 80–90 per cent of the wind velocity and travel large distances before being significantly mixed. However, complete mixing is not achieved in our simulations and at late times the flow remains perturbed

Magnetohydrodynamic simulations of mechanical stellar feedback in a sheet-like molecular cloud

We have used the adaptive-mesh-refinement hydrodynamic code, mg, to perform 3D magnetohydrodynamic simulations with self-gravity of stellar feedback in a sheet-like molecular cloud formed through the action of the thermal instability. We simulate the interaction of the mechanical energy input from a 15 star and a 40 M⊙ star into a 100 pc-diameter 17 000 M⊙ cloud with a corrugated sheet morphology that in projection appears filamentary. The stellar winds are introduced using appropriate Geneva stellar evolution models. In the 15 M⊙ star case, the wind forms a narrow bipolar cavity with minimal effect on the parent cloud. In the 40 M⊙ star case, the more powerful stellar wind creates a large cylindrical cavity through the centre of the cloud. After 12.5 and 4.97 Myr, respectively, the massive stars explode as supernovae (SNe). In the 15 M⊙ star case, the SN material and energy is primarily deposited into the molecular cloud surroundings over ∼10^5 yr before the SN remnant escapes the cloud. In the 40 M⊙ star case, a significant fraction of the SN material and energy rapidly escapes the molecular cloud along the wind cavity in a few tens of kiloyears. Both SN events compress the molecular cloud material around them to higher densities (so may trigger further star formation), and strengthen the magnetic field, typically by factors of 2–3 but up to a factor of 10. Our simulations are relevant to observations of bubbles in flattened ring-like molecular clouds and bipolar Hii regions

Hydrodynamic simulations of mechanical stellar feedback in a molecular cloud formed by thermal instability

We have used the AMR hydrodynamic code, MG, to perform 3D hydrodynamic simulations with self-gravity of stellar feedback in a spherical clumpy molecular cloud formed through the action of thermal instability. We simulate the interaction of the mechanical energy input from 15 Msun, 40 Msun, 60 Msun and 120 Msun stars into a 100 pc-diameter 16,500 Msun cloud with a roughly spherical morphology with randomly distributed high density condensations. The stellar winds are introduced using appropriate non-rotating Geneva stellar evolution models. In the 15 Msun star case, the wind has very little effect, spreading around a few neighbouring clumps before becoming overwhelmed by the cloud collapse. In contrast, in the 40 Msun, 60 Msun and 120 Msun star cases, the more powerful stellar winds create large cavities and carve channels through the cloud, breaking out into the surrounding tenuous medium during the wind phase and considerably altering the cloud structure. After 4.97 Myrs, 3.97 Myrs and 3.01 Myrs respectively, the massive stars explode as supernovae (SNe). The wind-sculpted surroundings considerably affect the evolution of these SN events as they both escape the cloud along wind-carved channels and sweep up remaining clumps of cloud/wind material. The `cloud' as a coherent structure does not survive the SN from any of these stars, but only in the 120 Msun case is the cold molecular material completely destabilised and returned to the unstable thermal phase. In the 40 Msun and 60 Msun cases, coherent clumps of cold material are ejected from the cloud by the SN, potentially capable of further star formation

Striations, integrals, hourglasses, and collapse – thermal instability driven magnetic simulations of molecular clouds

The MHD version of the adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) code, MG, has been employed to study the interaction of thermal instability, magnetic fields, and gravity through 3D simulations of the formation of collapsing cold clumps on the scale of a few parsecs, inside a larger molecular cloud. The diffuse atomic initial condition consists of a stationary, thermally unstable, spherical cloud in pressure equilibrium with lower density surroundings and threaded by a uniform magnetic field. This cloud was seeded with 10 per cent density perturbations at the finest initial grid level around n = 1.1 cm−3 and evolved with self-gravity included from the outset. Several cloud diameters were considered (100, 200, and 400 pc) equating to several cloud masses (17 000, 136 000, and 1.1 × 106 M⊙). Low-density magnetic-field-aligned striations were observed as the clouds collapse along the field lines into disc-like structures. The induced flow along field lines leads to oscillations of the sheet about the gravitational minimum and an integral-shaped appearance. When magnetically supercritical, the clouds then collapse and generate hourglass magnetic field configurations with strongly intensified magnetic fields, reproducing observational behaviour. Resimulation of a region of the highest mass cloud at higher resolution forms gravitationally bound collapsing clumps within the sheet that contain clump-frame supersonic (M ∼ 5) and super-Alfvénic (MA ∼ 4) velocities. Observationally realistic density and velocity power spectra of the cloud and densest clump are obtained. Future work will use these realistic initial conditions to study individual star and cluster feedback

Hydrodynamical models of cometary H ii regions

We have modelled the evolution of cometary H ii regions produced by zero-age main-sequence stars of O and B spectral types, which are driving strong winds and are born off-centre from spherically symmetric cores with power-law (α = 2) density slopes. A model parameter grid was produced that spans stellar mass, age and core density. Exploring this parameter space, we investigated limb-brightening, a feature commonly seen in cometary H ii regions. We found that stars with mass M⋆ ≥ 12 M⊙ produce this feature. Our models have a cavity bounded by a contact discontinuity separating hot shocked wind and ionized ambient gas that is similar in size to the surrounding H ii region. Because of early pressure confinement, we did not see shocks outside of the contact discontinuity for stars with M⋆ ≤ 40 M⊙, but the cavities were found to continue to grow. The cavity size in each model plateaus as the H ii region stagnates. The spectral energy distributions of our models are similar to those from identical stars evolving in uniform density fields. The turn-over frequency is slightly lower in our power-law models as a result of a higher proportion of low-density gas covered by the H ii regions

Colliding-wind binary systems: Diffusive shock acceleration and non-thermal emission

We present a model for the non-thermal emission from a colliding-wind binary. Relativistic protons and electrons are assumed to be accelerated through diffusive shock acceleration (DSA) at the global shocks bounding the wind-wind collision region. The non-linear effects of the back-reaction due to the cosmic ray pressure on the particle acceleration process and the cooling of the non-thermal particles as they flow downstream from the shocks are included. We explore how the non-thermal particle distribution and the keV−GeV emission changes with the stellar separation and the viewing angle of the system, and with the momentum ratio of the winds. We confirm earlier findings that DSA is very efficient when magnetic field amplification is not included, leading to significantly modified shocks. We also find that the non-thermal flux scales with the binary separation in a complicated way and that the anisotropic inverse Compton emission shows only a moderate variation with viewing angle due to the spatial extent of the wind-wind collision