Talks at Nordita Programs [before October 2010]

Supernovae shock breakouts and their possible relation to gamma-ray bursts and X-ray flashes

by Eli Waxman (Weizmann Institute, Rehovot, Israel)

Europe/Stockholm
Nordita seminar room (132:028)

Nordita seminar room (132:028)

Description
During the past two years, Swift’s detectors provided the first prompt identifications of supernova explosions: The usual optical SN light curve of two type Ib/c SNe was observed to be preceded by a luminous X-ray outburst followed by a ~1day duration UV emission. Following this discovery, early UV emission was also detected for two type II-p SNe. These discoveries provide us with new tools for studying SNe, and may allow us to conduct efficient SN searches. The origin of the X-ray outburst is still debated- some argue it is consitent with a "shock breakout", while others argue it requires the presence of a relativistic jet. This debate is closely related to open questions regarding the association of SNe and GRBs, and to the physics governing the X/UV emission. I will discuss the phenomenology and physics of shock breakouts. Particular emphasis would be given to open questions, to the underlying physics of relativistic radiation mediated shocks, and to the proposed SN-GRB/XRF association.

Streaming video