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Title: Soft x-ray background as a blast wave viewed from inside

Thesis/Dissertation ·
OSTI ID:5681443

A model of the soft x-ray background is presented in which the Sun is assumed to be inside an active supernova blast wave. The broad-band surface brightnesses can be explained by such a blast wave with an explosion energy of E/sub 0/ greater than or equal to 5 x 10/sup 50/ ergs and radius 80 to 100 pc, using solar abundances. The dynamical model used includes the effects of thermal conduction, as the electrons are assumed to be heated by non-Coulomb processes in the shock front. At early times these effects are important, but as the temperature drops with time, they fade away and the structure approaches that of an adiabatic blast wave. An approach to treating the problem of large anisotropies in the ambient medium is also explored, accommodating the observed anticorrelation between the soft x-ray surface brightness and the column density of neutral hydrogen. It is found that only for post shock temperatures below 10/sup 6/ K will a shock propagating into a density enhancement be dimmer than a shock of similar pressure in a medium of lower density.

Research Organization:
Wisconsin Univ., Madison (USA)
OSTI ID:
5681443
Resource Relation:
Other Information: Thesis (Ph. D.)
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English