Credit: NASA, ESA, and P. Challis (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics) It looks like the same system that breaks up plane contrails might be at play in forming the clumps of hydrogen gas that ring the remnant of supernova 1987A. Physicists often turn to the Rayleigh-Taylor instability to discuss why fluid structures form in plasmas, however that might not be the full story when it comes to the ring of hydrogen clumps around supernova 1987A, research study from the University of Michigan suggests.In a research study released in Physical Review Letters, the team argues that the Crow instability does a better task of explaining the “string of pearls” surrounding the remnant of the star, shedding light on a longstanding astrophysical mystery. The number of clumps is constant with the Crow instability having actually caused them to form.Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, Mikako Matsuura (Cardiff University), Richard Arendt (NASA-GSFC, UMBC), Claes Fransson (Stockholm University), Josefin Larsson (KTH), Alyssa Pagan (STScI)The Crow Instability at WorkIn jet contrails, the Crow instability creates breaks in the smooth line of clouds since of the spiraling air flow coming off the end of each wing, understood as wingtip vortices. They were pleased to see that more clumps appear to appear in the shot from the James Webb Space Telescopes near-infrared video camera, launched in August last year, Wadas explained.The group likewise recommended that the Crow instability might be at play when the dust around a star settles into planets, although more research is required to explore this possibility.Reference: “Hydrodynamic Mechanism for Clumping along the Equatorial Rings of SN1987A and Other Stars” by Michael J. Wadas, William J. White, Heath J. LeFevre, Carolyn C. Kuranz, Aaron Towne and Eric Johnsen, 13 March 2024, Physical Review Letters.DOI: 10.1103/ PhysRevLett.132.111201 The research study was supported by the Department of Energy, with computing resources supplied by the Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery EnvironmentCo-authors of the research study are: William White and Aaron Towne, a graduate trainee and an assistant professor in mechanical engineering, respectively; and Heath LeFevre and Carolyn Kuranz, a research fellow and an associate professor of nuclear engineering and radiological sciences, respectively; all at U-M.
Physicists typically turn to the Rayleigh-Taylor instability to explain why fluid structures form in plasmas, but that might not be the complete story when it comes to the ring of hydrogen clumps around supernova 1987A, research from the University of Michigan suggests.In a research study published in Physical Review Letters, the group argues that the Crow instability does a better job of describing the “string of pearls” encircling the remnant of the star, shedding light on a longstanding astrophysical secret. The number of clumps is constant with the Crow instability having actually caused them to form.Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, Mikako Matsuura (Cardiff University), Richard Arendt (NASA-GSFC, UMBC), Claes Fransson (Stockholm University), Josefin Larsson (KTH), Alyssa Pagan (STScI)The Crow Instability at WorkIn jet contrails, the Crow instability creates breaks in the smooth line of clouds due to the fact that of the spiraling air flow coming off the end of each wing, known as wingtip vortices. They were pleased to see that more clumps seem to appear in the shot from the James Webb Space Telescopes near-infrared electronic camera, released in August last year, Wadas explained.The team likewise suggested that the Crow instability may be at play when the dust around a star settles into worlds, although more research is required to explore this possibility.Reference: “Hydrodynamic Mechanism for Clumping along the Equatorial Rings of SN1987A and Other Stars” by Michael J. Wadas, William J. White, Heath J. LeFevre, Carolyn C. Kuranz, Aaron Towne and Eric Johnsen, 13 March 2024, Physical Review Letters.DOI: 10.1103/ PhysRevLett.132.111201 The study was supported by the Department of Energy, with computing resources supplied by the Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery EnvironmentCo-authors of the research study are: William White and Aaron Towne, a graduate student and an assistant teacher in mechanical engineering, respectively; and Heath LeFevre and Carolyn Kuranz, a research fellow and an associate teacher of nuclear engineering and radiological sciences, respectively; all at U-M.