Supernovae are the dominant energy source for driving turbulence within the interstellar plasma. Until recently, their effects on magnetic field amplification in disk galaxies remained a matter of speculation. By means of self-consistent simulations of supernova-driven turbulence, we find an exponential amplification of the mean magnetic field on timescales of a few hundred million years. The robustness of the observed fast dynamo is checked at different magnetic Reynolds numbers, and we find sustained dynamo action at moderate Rm. This indicates that the mechanism might indeed be of relevance for the real ISM.
Sensing the flow via passive tracer fields, we infer that SNe produce a turbulent alpha effect which is consistent with the predictions of quasilinear theory. To lay a foundation for global mean-field models, we aim to explore the scaling of the dynamo tensors with respect to the key parameters of our simulations. Here we give a first account on the variation with the supernova rate.
The turnover of interstellar gas on $\sim 10^9$yr timescales argues for the continuous operation of a galactic dynamo. The conductivity of interstellar gas is so high that the dynamo must be "fast" - i.e. the magnetic field must be amplified at a rate nearly independent of the magnetic diffusivity. Yet, all the fast dynamos so far known - and all direct numerical simulations of interstellar dynamos - yield magnetic power spectra that peak at the resistive scale, while galactic magnetic fields have substantial power on large scales. In this paper we show that in weakly ionized gas the limiting …
Supernovae are known to be the dominant energy source for driving turbulence in the interstellar medium. Yet, their effect on magnetic field amplification in spiral galaxies is still poorly understood. Previous analytical models, based on the evolution of isolated, non-interacting supernova remnants, predicted a dominant vertical pumping that would render dynamo action improbable. In the present work, we address the issue of vertical transport, which is thought to be the key process that inhibits dynamo action in the galactic context. We aim to demonstrate that supernova driving is a powerful …
We present a large number of two and a half dimensional simulations of supernova remnants expanding into interstellar media having a range of densities, temperatures and magnetic field strengths. The volume of hot gas produced is strongly dependent on the inclusion of thermal conduction and magnetic fields. The four-volumes and three-areas of hot gas have been catalogued and their dependence on interstellar parameters documented. Simulated line widths of radioactive species ejected by supernovae have also been catalogued.
We summarise the proceedings of the SRCfTA workshop on ``Supernova Remnants, Pulsars and the Interstellar Medium'' that was held at the University of Sydney on Mar 18 and 19, 1999.
Several lines of evidence suggest that protogalactic and galactic environments manage to grow magnetic field very rapidly. This makes the theoretical problem of achieving rapid growth of magnetic fields in such environments difficult. Following Balsara, Benjamin and Cox (2001), we show that a multiphase ISM that is dominated by realistic energy inputs via supernova explosions will naturally become a strongly turbulent medium with large positive and negative values of the fluid helicity. The resultant interstellar turbulence seems to have some of the essential characteristics of a fast dynamo. …
In this paper we further advance the study of magnetic field amplification in the interstellar medium that was started in Balsara et al (2004, Paper I). We show that the flux growth rate is comparable to the rate of magnetic energy growth found in Paper I. We also demonstrate the role of intermittency in field amplification. The density shows a double-peaked PDF, consistent with the cooling curve that was used. The PDF of the magnetic field shows a high-end tail, providing a tell-tale signature of the operation of the small scale dynamo. The magnetic field strength correlates positively with t…
A multi-wavelength investigation of the candidate supernova remnant G63.7+1.1 and its surrounding interstellar medium is presented. On the basis of radio continuum data we conclude that the object is a filled-center supernova remnant, perhaps in the course of becoming a composite remnant. The morphology of the remnant, along with HI, 12CO and high resolution IRAS data, suggest that G63.7+1.1 is interacting directly with the ISM, and does not lie in a low density region of the ISM. This in turn strongly suggests that the detected nebula is not surrounded by an invisible halo of supernova ejecta…
The results of the 2D modelling of Supernova remnant (SNR) RCW86 are given. Models of this remnant, which for the first time interpret the anisotropy of surface brightness as a result of the evolution of adiabatic SNR in the interstellar medium with a large-scale gradient of density, are considered. Estimations on the basic characteristics of RCW86 and the surrounding medium which follow from these models are found. It is shown that the observed surface brightness distribution of RCW86 may be obtaned in the both proposed up till now models with different initial assumptions: one about a Supern…
Observational evidence for anisotropy in supernovae (SN) may signal the importance of angular momentum and differential rotation in the progenitors. Free energy in differential rotation and rotation can be extracted magnetically or via turbulent dissipation. The importance that magnetohydrodyamic jets and coronae may play in driving SN motivates understanding large scale dynamos in SN progenitors. We develop a dynamical large scale interface dynamo model in which the differential rotation and rotation deplete both through Poynting flux and turbulent diffusion. We apply the model to a different…
Possibility to model the high energy synchrotron emission (in X- and gamma-rays) from supernova remnants is an important task for modern astronomy and astrophysics, because it may be responsible for the nonthermal X-rays and TeV gamma-rays observed recently from a number of SNRs. This emission allows as to look in the processes of particle acceleration on SNR shocks and generation of cosmic rays. In this paper, a model for the synchrotron emission from shell SNR in nonuniform interstellar medium and nonuniform magnetic field is presented. This model is a generalization of the model of Reynolds…
Numerical simulations of the multi-phase interstellar medium have been carried out, using a 3D, nonlinear, magnetohydrodynamic, shearing-box model, with random motions driven by supernova explosions. These calculations incorporate the effects of magnetic fields and rotation in 3D; these play important dynamical roles in the galaxy, but are neglected in many other simulations. The supernovae driving the motions are not arbitrarily imposed, but occur where gas accumulates into cold, dense clouds; their implementation uses a physically motivated model for the evolution of such clouds. The process…
The evidence for particle acceleration in supernova shells comes from electrons whose synchrotron emission is observed in radio and X-rays. Recent observations by the HESS instrument reveal that supernova remnants also emit TeV gamma-rays; long awaited experimental evidence that supernova remnants can accelerate cosmic rays up to the ``knee'' energies. Still, uncertainty exists whether these gamma-rays are produced by electrons via inverse Compton scattering or by protons via neutral pion decay. The multi-wavelength spectra of supernova remnants can be fitted with both mechanisms, although a p…
We present the first numerical model of the magnetohydrodynamical cosmic-ray (CR) driven dynamo of the type proposed by Parker (1992). The driving force of the amplification process comes from CRs injected into the galactic disk in randomly distributed spherical regions representing supernova remnants. The underlying disk is differentially rotating. An explicit resistivity is responsible for the dissipation of the small-scale magnetic field component. We obtain amplification of the large-scale magnetic on a timescale 250 Myr.
We examine the magnetic reconnection triggered by a supernova (or a point explosion) in interstellar medium, by performing two-dimensional resistive magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) numerical simulations with high spatial resolution. We found that the magnetic reconnection starts long after a supernova shock (fast-mode MHD shock) passes a current sheet. The current sheet evolves as follows: (i) Tearing-mode instability is excited by the supernova shock, and the current sheet becomes thin in its nonlinear stage. (ii) The current-sheet thinning is saturated when the current-sheet thickness becomes comp…
We present a model of the global magnetic field in the barred galaxy NGC 1365 based jointly on the large-scale velocity field of interstellar gas fitted to HI and CO observations of this galaxy and on mean-field dynamo theory. The aim of the paper is to present a detailed quantitative comparison of a galactic dynamo model with independent radio observations. We consider several gas dynamical and nonlinear dynamo models that include plausible variations of parameters that are poorly known. Models of cosmic ray distribution in the galaxy are introduced to produce synthetic radio polarization map…
We study the mixing of chemical species in the interstellar medium (ISM). Recent observations suggest that the distribution of species such as deuterium in the ISM may be far from homogeneous. This raises the question of how long it takes for inhomogeneities to be erased in the ISM, and how this depends on the length scale of the inhomogeneities. We added a tracer field to the three-dimensional, supernova-driven ISM model of Avillez (2000) to study mixing and dispersal in kiloparsec-scale simulations of the ISM with different supernova (SN) rates and different inhomogeneity length scales. We f…
We study the generation and maintenance of large-scale magnetic fields in barred galaxies. We take a velocity field (with strong noncircular components) from a published gas dynamical simulation of Athanassoula (1992), and use this as input to a galactic dynamo calculation. Our work is largely motivated by recent high quality VLA radio observations of the barred galaxy NGC 1097, and we compare our results in detail with the regular magnetic fields deduced from these observations. We are able to reproduce most of the conspicuous large-scale features of the observed regular field, including the …
Observations have suggested substantial departures from pressure equilibrium in the interstellar medium (ISM) in the plane of the Galaxy, even on scales under 50 pc. Nevertheless, multi-phase models of the ISM assume at least locally isobaric gas. The pressure then determines the density reached by gas cooling to stable thermal equilibrium. We use numerical models of the magnetized ISM to examine the consequences of supernova driving for interstellar pressures. In this paper we examine a (200 pc)^3 periodic domain threaded by magnetic fields. Individual parcels of gas at different pressures re…
The long-term evolution of supernova remnants (SNRs) in the primordial interstellar medium (ISM) with an inhomogeneous structure is calculated to investigate metal enrichment of the primordial gas. For this purpose, we have constructed a parallel 3-D hydrodynamics code incorporating the radiative cooling and self-gravity. The self-gravity and radiative cooling develop the inhomogeneous structure of the ISM from a small perturbation with a power-law spectrum. The resultant density ranges from 0.5 cm$^{-3}$ to 10$^6$ cm $^{-3}$. Calculations for a supernova (SN) with the progenitor mass of 20 so…
Interstellar turbulence is expected to dissipate quickly in the absence of continuous energy input. I examine the energy available for driving the turbulence from six likely mechanisms: magnetorotational instability, gravitational instability, protostellar outflows, H II region expansion, stellar winds, and supernovae. I conclude that supernovae contribute far more energy than the other mechanisms, and so form the most likely drving mechanism.
The large-scale Galactic interstellar radiation field (ISRF) is the result of stellar emission and dust re-processing of starlight. Where the energy density of the ISRF is high (e.g., the Galactic Centre), the dominant gamma-ray emission in individual supernova remnants (SNRs), such as G0.9+0.1, may come from inverse Compton (IC) scattering of the ISRF. Several models of the ISRF exist. The most recent one, which has been calculated by us, predicts a significantly higher ISRF than the well-used model of Mathis, Mezger, and Panagia. However,comparison with data is limited to local observations.…
Feedback from massive stars is one of the least understood aspects of galaxy formation. We perform a suite of vertically stratified local interstellar medium (ISM) simulations in which supernova rates and vertical gas column densities are systematically varied based on the Schmidt-Kennicutt law. Our simulations have a sufficiently high spatial resolution (1.95 pc) to follow the hydrodynamic interactions among multiple supernovae that structure the ISM. At a given supernova rate, we find that the mean mass-weighted sound speed and velocity dispersion decrease as the inverse square root of gas d…
It is shown that protostrange stars (PSSs) can be convective and that there are two possible scenarios describing their turbulence. Besides the local turbulence on the scale which is less than the mean free path of neutrinos, large-scale (~1 km) convection also may occur with properties that are similar to those of convection in protoneutron stars (PNSs). We thus suggest that strange stars can also create dynamo-originated magnetic fields during the deleptonization episode soon after a supernova explosion. Further detailed investigations are needed to see whether or not strange stars and neutr…
The HI environment of the Crab Nebula is investigated using 2.75' and 9' resolution data from (respectively) the DRAO Synthesis, and Effelsberg 100 m, radio telescopes. No clear evidence for an interaction between the Crab and the surrounding HI is found; the Crab probably lies within the boundaries of a large scale, low-density void in the HI distribution. The presence of a wind-blown HI bubble near the Crab is confirmed, and it is suggested that the unidentified star which powers this bubble is responsible for the stellar wind material detected along the line of sight towards the Crab.
We present a scenario for efficient magnetization of very young galaxies about 0.5 Gigayears after the Big-Bang by a cosmic ray-driven dynamo. These objects experience a phase of strong star formation during this first $10^9$ years. We transfer the knowledge of the connection between star formation and the production rate of cosmic rays by supernova remnants to such high redshift objects. Since the supernova rate is a direct measure for the production rate of cosmic rays we conclude that very young galaxies must be strong sources of cosmic rays. The key argument of our model is the finding tha…
ISO spectral observations of the supernova remnant RCW103 are presented. This object is the prototype of relatively young remnants with fast shocks interacting with dense interstellar medium. The spectrum is dominated by prominent lines of [NeII], [SiII], [FeII] and other low excitation species which provide, for the first time, a simple and reliable estimate of the gas abundances of refractory (Si, Fe, Ni) and non-refractory (Ne, P, S, Cl, Ar) species. Apart from nickel, all the derived abundances are close to solar, confirming that the shock has destroyed all dust grains. Like the optical ni…
We study convective motions taken from hydrodynamic simulations of rotating proto--neutron stars (PNSs) with respect to their ability to excite a dynamo instability which may be responsible for the giant neutron star magnetic fields. Since it is impossible to simulate the magnetic field evolution employing the actual magnetic Reynolds numbers ($\Rm$) resulting from the hydrodynamic simulations, (smallest) critical $\Rm$s and the corresponding field geometries are derived on the kinematic level by rescaling the velocity amplitudes. It turns out that the actual values of $\Rm$ are by many orders…
We present the results of numerical studies of supernova remnant evolution and their effects on galactic and globular cluster evolution. We show that parameters such as the density and the metallicity of the environment significantly influence the evolution of the remnant, and thus change its effects on the global environment (e.g., globular clusters, galaxies) as a source of thermal and kinetic energy. We conducted our studies using a one-dimensional hydrodynamics code, in which we implemented a metallicity dependent cooling function. Global time-dependent quantities such as the total kinetic…
Interstellar superbubbles generated by multiple supernova explosions are common in star-forming galaxies. They are the most obvious manifestation of mechanical feedback, and are largely responsible for transferring both thermal and kinetic energy to the interstellar medium from the massive star population. However, the details of this energy transfer remain surprisingly murky when individual objects are studied. I will summarize what we currently know about candidate dominant processes on these scales.
To study how supernova feedback structures the turbulent interstellar medium, we construct 3D models of vertically stratified gas stirred by discrete supernova explosions, including vertical gravitational field and parametrized heating and cooling. The models reproduce many observed characteristics of the Galaxy such as global circulation of gas (i.e., galactic fountain) and the existence of cold dense clouds in the galactic disk. Global quantities of the model such as warm and hot gas filling factors in the midplane, mass fraction of thermally unstable gas, and the averaged vertical density p…
The evolution of supernova remnants (SNRs) is studied, with particular attention to the effect of magnetic fields with axisymmetric two-dimensional magnetohydrodynamical simulations. The evolution of magnetic SNRs is the same as non-magnetic ones in the adiabatic Sedov stage. After a thin shell is formed, the shell is driven by the pressure of the hot interior gas (bubble). Evolution in the pressure-driven snow-plow phase is much affected by the magnetic field. The shell sweeping the magnetic field lines thickens owing to the magnetic pressure force. After $5\times 10^5{\rm yr}$ - $2\times 10^…
Methods for estimation of different reference times which appear in the description of transition of a strong adiabatic shock into the radiative era are reviewed. The need for consideration of an additional transition subphase in between the end of the adiabatic era and the beginning of the radiative ''pressure-driven snowplow'' stage for a shock running in the uniform or nonuniform medium is emphasized. This could be of importance in particular for studying the interaction of supernova remnants (SNRs) with molecular clouds and therefore for understanding the processes of the cosmic ray produc…
It is shown that a number of key observations of the Galactic ISM can be understood, if it is treated as a highly compressible and turbulent medium energized predominantly by supernova explosions (and stellar winds). We have performed extensive numerical high resolution 3D hydrodynamical and magnetohydrodynamical simulations with adaptive mesh refinement over sufficiently long time scales to erase memory effects of the initial setup. Our results show, in good agrement with observations, that (i) volume filling factors of the hot medium are modest (typically below 20%), (ii) global pressure is …
Observations in polarized emission reveal the existence of large-scale coherent magnetic fields in a wide range of spiral galaxies. Radio-polarization data show that these fields are strongly inclined towards the radial direction, with pitch angles up to $35\degr$ and thus cannot be explained by differential rotation alone. Global dynamo models describe the generation of the radial magnetic field from the underlying turbulence via the so called $α$-effect. However, these global models still rely on crude assumptions about the small-scale turbulence. To overcome these restrictions we perform fu…
We model the hydrodynamic interaction of a shock wave of an evolved supernova remnant with a small interstellar gas cloud like the ones observed in the Cygnus loop and in the Vela SNR. We investigate the interplay between radiative cooling and thermal conduction during cloud evolution and their effect on the mass and energy exchange between the cloud and the surrounding medium. Through the study of two cases characterized by different Mach numbers of the primary shock (M = 30 and 50, corresponding to a post-shock temperature $T\approx 1.7\times 10^6$ K and $\approx 4.7\times 10^6$ K, respectiv…
The shocked interstellar medium around IC443 produces strong X-ray emission in the soft energy band (E<1.5 keV). We present an analysis of such emission as observed with the EPIC MOS cameras on board the XMM-Newotn observatory, with the purpose to find clear signatures of the interactions with the interstellar medium (ISM) in the X-ray band, which may complement results obtained in other wavelenghts. We found that the giant molecular cloud mapped in CO emission is located in the foreground and gives an evident signature in the absorption of X-rays. This cloud may have a torus shape and the par…
We observed the oxygen-rich Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) supernova remnant N132D (SNR 0525-69.6), using all instruments onboard the Spitzer Space Telescope, IRS, IRAC, and MIPS (Infrared Spectrograph, Infrared Array Camera, Multiband Imaging Photometer for Spitzer). The 5-40 micron IRS spectra toward the southeastern shell of the remnant show a steeply rising continuum with [NeIII] and [OIV] as well as PAH emission. We also present the spectrum of a fast moving ejecta knot, previously detected at optical wavelengths, which is dominated by strong [NeIII] and [OIV] emission lines. We interpret t…
Calculations of the expected TeV $γ$-ray emission, produced by accelerated cosmic rays (CRs) in nuclear collisions, from supernova remnants evolving in a uniform interstellar medium (ISM) are presented. The aim is to study the sensitivity of $γ$-ray production to a physical parameter set. Apart from its general proportionality to N_H, it is shown that the $γ$-ray production essentially depends upon the ratio of the CR diffusion coefficient $κ$ to a critical value $κ_{crit}=10(B_0/5 μ{G})(N_H/0.3 {cm}^{-3})^{-1/3}κ_B$, where B_0 and N_H are the magnetic field and hydrogen number density of the …
Observations have suggested substantial departures from pressure equilibrium in the interstellar medium (ISM) in the plane of the Galaxy, even on scales under 50 pc. Nevertheless, multi-phase models of the ISM assume at least locally isobaric gas. The pressure then determines the density reached by gas cooling to stable thermal equilibrium. We use two different sets of numerical models of the ISM to examine the consequences of supernova driving for interstellar pressures. The first set of models is hydrodynamical, and uses adaptive mesh refinement to allow computation of a 1 x 1 x 20 kpc secti…
We present two-dimensional MHD simulations of the evolution of a young Type Ia supernova remnant during its interaction with an interstellar cloud of comparable size at impact. We include for the first time in such simulations explicit relativistic electron transport, including spectral information using a simple but effective scheme that follows their acceleration at shocks and subsequent transport. From this information we also model radio synchrotron emission, including spectra. The principal conclusions from these experiments are: 1) Independent of the cloud interaction, the SNR reverse sh…
We consider the magnetic helicity balance for the galactic dynamo in the framework of the local dynamo problem, as well as in the no-z model (which includes explicitly the radial distribution of the magnetic fields). When calculating the magnetic helicity balance we take into account the redistribution of the small-scale and large-scale magnetic fields between the magnetic helicities, as well as magnetic helicity transport and diffusion due to small-scale turbulence. We demonstrate that the magnetic helicity flux through the galactic disc boundaries leads to a steady-state magnetic field with …
The large-scale gradient of the interstellar medium (ISM) density distribution essentially affects the evolution of Supernova remnants (SNRs). In a non-uniform ISM, the shape of SNR becomes essentially non-spherical, and distributions of gas parameters inside the remnant become strongly anisotropic. The well-known self-similar Sedov solutions may not be applied to modelling such non-spherical objects. Therefore we propose a new approximate analytical method for full hydrodynamical description of 3D point-like explosions in non-uniform media with arbitrary density distribution. On the basis of …
In order to determine the circumstances under which isolated SNRs are capable of rising into and enriching the thick disk and galactic halo, simulations of supernova remnants are performed with the FLASH magnetohydrodynamic code. We performed simulations in which the interstellar magnetic field is parallel to or perpendicular to the galactic plane as well as a simulation without a magnetic field. The ambient gas density distribution and gravitational potential are based on observations of our galaxy. We evolve the remnants to ages of roughly 10,000,000 years. For our simulation without a magne…
We present spectroscopic observations of supernova 1994D in NGC 4526, an S0$_3$ galaxy in the Virgo cluster 15 Mpc distant. The datasets consist of the interstellar Ca\II\ and Na\I\ lines towards the supernova at high spectral resolution (FWHM 6 \kms), \halpha\ and [N\,II] observations at lower resolution (FWHM 33 \kms) of the nucleus of NGC 4526 and the supernova, obtained with the WHT at La Palma, and 21 cm spectra obtained with the 100 m Effelsberg Radiotelescope in the field of NGC 4526. The velocity of the gas in NGC 4526 determined from our \halpha\ spectra is +625 \kms\ at the centre an…
Within the interstellar medium, supernovae are thought to be the prevailing agents in driving turbulence. Until recently, their effects on magnetic field amplification in disk galaxies remained uncertain. Analytical models based on the uncorrelated-ensemble approach predicted that any created field would be expelled from the disk before it could be amplified significantly. By means of direct simulations of supernova-driven turbulence, we demonstrate that this is not the case. Accounting for galactic differential rotation and vertical stratification, we find an exponential amplification of the …
We study generation of magnetic fields by the Biermann mechanism in the pair-instability supernovae explosions of first stars. The Biermann mechanism produces magnetic fields in the shocked region between the bubble and interstellar medium (ISM), even if magnetic fields are absent initially. We perform a series of two-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulations with the Biermann term and estimate the amplitude and total energy of the produced magnetic fields. We find that magnetic fields with amplitude $10^{-14}-10^{-17}$ G are generated inside the bubble, though the amount of magnetic fields …
Supernovae release an enormous amount of energy into the interstellar medium. Their remnants can observationally be traced up to several ten-thousand years. So far more than 230 Galactic supernova remnants (SNRs) have been identified in the radio range. Detailed studies of the different types of SNRs give insight into the interaction of the blast wave with the interstellar medium. Shock accelerated particles are observed, but also neutron stars left from the supernova explosion make their contribution. X-ray observations in conjunction with radio data constrain models of supernova evolution. A…
We report on the detection of HCO+ and 12CO emission in the rotational transition J=1-0 in the vicinity of the shock front at the southern border of the supernova remnant RCW 103, where previous infrared observations suggest an interaction with a molecular cloud. The observations were carried out with the Australian Millimeter Radiotelescope at Mopra. We observed a depletion of HCO+ behind the supernova shock front. In addition, we studied the interstellar medium over an extended region towards RCW 103 based on archival 21 cm HI line observations from the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATC…
Magnetic field amplification in astrophysics ultimately requires an understanding of magnetohydrodynamic turbulence. Kinetic helicity has long been known to be important for large scale field growth in forced MHD turbulence, and has been recently demonstrated numerically to be asymptotically consistent with slow mean field dynamo action in a periodic box. Here we show numerically that the magnetic spectrum at and below the forcing scale is also strongly influenced by kinetic helicity. We identify a critical value, $f_{h,crit}$ above which the magnetic spectrum develops maxima at wavenumber $= …
