Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-astrophysical-fluid-dynamics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2014/paper-1/1/c/solution
Past exam of the astrophysical fluid dynamics course of the University of Cambridge 2014 Paper 1 1 c Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-20
Once swept-up matter dominates the ejecta and radiative cooling is negligible, the Sedov-Taylor blast wave has its shock radius fixed by dimensional analysis:Here is a dimensionless constant of order unity fixed by the adiabatic index. Treating the ambient matter as hydrogen gives , while . ThusFor a monatomic gas, the usual similarity normalization instead gives about . An estimate of a few parsecs is therefore appropriate. Negligible ejecta mass does not by itself guarantee this energy-conserving stage: substantial radiation losses or a strongly nonuniform ambient mass density would invalidate the assumed similarity law.
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