Dynamics of Adiabatic Blast Waves in Media of Finite Mass
Abstract
A basic formulation is developed to describe the mass motion for nonrelativistic, spherically symmetric blast waves. The formulation is quite general in the sense that it applies to blast waves generated by either a strong explosion or a continuous energy injection, and in that it applies to an arbitrary density distribution. A simple method is developed to describe the motion of the shock by modifying the Kompaneets approximation. The formulation is applied to blast waves in specific density distributions, including an exponential medium, a Gaussian medium, and a medium with density distribution which asymptotically approaches a power law. Comparisons with numerical results for spherically symmetric blast waves are made. The one-dimensional formulation is generalized to nonspherically symmetric blast waves by making the assumption that the blast wave expands radially. Comparisons are made with numerical results for an adiabatic supershell in a plane-parallel medium.
- Publication:
-
The Astrophysical Journal
- Pub Date:
- May 1990
- DOI:
- 10.1086/168712
- Bibcode:
- 1990ApJ...354..513K
- Keywords:
-
- Detonation Waves;
- Gravitational Collapse;
- Isentropic Processes;
- Magnetohydrodynamics;
- Shock Wave Propagation;
- Adiabatic Conditions;
- Detonation;
- Stellar Winds;
- Supernovae;
- Astrophysics;
- HYDRODYNAMICS;
- SHOCK WAVES