A Case Study of Small Scale Structure Formation in 3D Supernova Simulations

TL;DR

This paper presents a detailed 3D simulation study of supernova remnant structures, focusing on Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities and their role in forming clumps with specific physical characteristics.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the effects of asymmetries and resolution on RT instability development and clump formation in supernova remnants.

Findings

RT unstable region develops at He/OC interface

Clumps are overdense by 10-100 times

Clump sizes are a few percent of remnant diameter

Abstract

It is suggested in observations of supernova remnants that a number of large- and small-scale structures form at various points in the explosion. Multidimensional modeling of core-collapse supernovae has been undertaken since SN1987A, and both simulations and observations suggest/show that Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities during the explosion is a main driver for the formation of structure in the remnants. We present a case study of structure formation in 3D in a \msol{15} supernova for different parameters. We investigate the effect of moderate asymmetries and different resolutions of the formation and morphology of the RT unstable region, and take first steps at determining typical physical quantities (size, composition) of arising clumps. We find that in this progenitor the major RT unstable region develops at the He/OC interface for all cases considered. The RT instabilities result in clumps that are overdense by 1-2 orders of magnitude with respect to the ambient gas, have size scales on the level of a few % of the remnant diameter, and are not diffused after the first $\sim30$ yrs of the remnant evolution, in the absence of a surrounding medium.