A MODEL FOR THE RADIO EMISSION FROM SNR 1987A

SN1998bw shot to fame by claims of association with GRB980425. Independent of its presumed association with a GRB, this SN is unusual in its radio properties. A simple interpretation of the unusually bright radio emission leads us to the conclusion that there are two shocks in this SN: a slow moving shock containing most of the ejecta and a relativistic shock (Gamma=2) which is responsible for the radio emission. This is the first evidence for the existence of relativistic sh...

It is recognized that some core-collapse supernovae (SNe) show a double-peaked radio light curve within a few years since the explosion. A shell of circumstellar medium (CSM) detached from the SN progenitor has been considered to play a viable role in characterizing such a re-brightening of radio emission. Here, we propose another mechanism that can give rise to the double-peaked radio light curve in core-collapse SNe. The key ingredient in the present work is to expand the m...

Galactic cosmic rays are widely believed to be accelerated in expanding shock waves initiated by supernova explosions. The theory of diffusive shock acceleration of cosmic rays is now well established, but two fundamental questions remain partly unanswered: what is the acceleration efficiency, i.e. the fraction of the total supernova energy converted to cosmic-ray energy, and what is the maximum kinetic energy achieved by particles accelerated in supernova explosions? Recent ...

The discovery of GeV gamma-rays from classical novae indicates that shocks and relativistic particle acceleration are energetically key in these events. Further evidence for shocks comes from thermal keV X-ray emission and an early peak in the radio light curve on a timescale of months with a brightness temperature which is too high to result from freely expanding photo-ionized gas. Paper I developed a one dimensional model for the thermal emission from nova shocks. This work...

When applied to the blast wave formed by the explosion of a massive star as a supernova (SN), the theory of diffusive particle acceleration at shock fronts predicts a very high energy density in cosmic rays. Almost immediately after particles begin to be injected into the process, the cosmic ray pressure rises until comparable to the ram-pressure encountered by the shock front. Those supernovae which are observed in the radio band i.e., radio supernovae (RSNe), provide direct...

While supernova remnants (SNRs) have long been considered prime candidates for the source of cosmic rays, at least to energies up to ~10^14 eV, it is only over the past several years that direct evidence of such energetic particles in SNRs has been uncovered. X-ray observations of several shell-type SNRs have now revealed sites dominated by nonthermal emission, indicating an electron population whose energy extends far beyond the thermal distribution typical of such SNRs. In ...

We present extensive observations of the radio emission from the remnant of SN 1987A made with the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA), since the first detection of the remnant in 1990. The radio emission has evolved in time providing unique information on the interaction of the supernova shock with the circumstellar medium. We particularly focus on the monitoring observations at 1.4, 2.4, 4.8 and 8.6 GHz, which have been made at intervals of 4-6 weeks. The flux density ...

The radio spectra of many shell-type supernova remnants show deviations from those expected on theoretical grounds. In this paper we determine the effect of stochastic reacceleration on the spectra of electrons in the GeV band and at lower energies, and we investigate whether or not reacceleration can explain the observed variation of radio spectral indices. We explicitely calculate the momentum diffusion coefficient for 3 types of turbulence expected downstream of the forwar...

A large number of supernova remnants (SNRs) in our Galaxy and galaxies nearby have been resolved in various radio bands. This radio emission is thought to be produced via synchrotron emission from electrons accelerated by the shock that the supernova ejecta drives into the external medium. Here we consider the sample of radio SNRs in the Magellanic Clouds. Given the size and radio flux of a SNR, we seek to constrain the fraction of shocked fluid energy in non-thermal electron...

The momentum distribution of particles accelerated at strong non-relativistic shocks may be influenced by the spatial distribution of the flow speed around the shock. This phenomenon becomes evident in the cosmic-ray modified shock, where the particle spectrum itself determines the flow velocity profile upstream. However, what if the flow speed is not uniform downstream as well? Hydrodynamics indicates that its spatial variation over the length scales involved in the accelera...