Related papers: Collisionless shock in a partially ionized medium.…
Many fast supernova remnant shocks show spectra dominated by Balmer lines. The H$\alpha$ profiles have a narrow component explained by direct excitations and a thermally Doppler broadened component due to atoms that undergo charge exchange…
Balmer-dominated shocks in supernova remnants (SNRs) produce strong hydrogen lines with a two-component profile composed of a narrow contribution from cold upstream hydrogen atoms, and a broad contribution from hydrogen atoms that have…
In this paper we present the first formulation of the theory of non-linear particle acceleration in collisionless shocks in the presence of neutral hydrogen in the acceleration region. The dynamical reaction of the accelerated particles,…
We present the non-linear theory of shock acceleration applied to SNRs expanding into partially neutral plasma. Using this theory we show how the Balmer lines detected from young SNRs can be used to test the efficiency of shocks in the…
In this review we discuss some observational aspects and theoretical models of astrophysical collisionless shocks in partly ionized plasma with the presence of non-thermal components. A specific feature of fast strong collisionless shocks…
Balmer emission may be a powerful diagnostic tool to test the paradigm of cosmic ray (CR) acceleration in young supernova remnant (SNR) shocks. The width of the broad Balmer line is a direct indicator of the downstream plasma temperature.…
A collisionless shock may be strongly modified by the presence of neutral atoms through the processes of charge exchange between ions and neutrals and ionization of the latter. These two processes lead to exchange of energy and momentum…
The shocks of several young supernova remnants (SNR) are often associated with very thin optical filaments dominated by Balmer emission resulting from charge-exchange and collisional excitation between neutral Hydrogen from the interstellar…
I present computations of the integrated column densities produced in the post-shock cooling layers and in the radiative precursors of partially-cooled fast shocks as a function of the shock age. The results are applicable to the…
We present an observational and theoretical study of the optical emission from nonradiative shocks in three supernova remnants: the Cygnus Loop, RCW 86 and Tycho. The spectra of these shocks are dominated by collisionally excited hydrogen…
The Balmer line profiles of nonradiative supernova remnant shocks provide the means to measure the post-shock proton velocity distribution. While most analyses assume a Maxwellian velocity distribution, this is unlikely to be correct. In…
We examine the structure of the post-shock region in supernova remnants (SNRs). The ``shock transition zone'' is set up by charge transfer and ionization events between atoms and ions, and has a width $\sim 10^{15}$ cm$^{-2}$ $n^{-1}_0$,…
We considered the structure of steady-state plane-parallel radiative shock waves propagating through the partially ionized hydrogen gas of temperature T_1 = 3000K and density 1e-12 gm/cm^3 <= \rho_1 <= 1e-9 gm/cm^3. The upstream Mach…
Linearly polarized Balmer line emissions from supernova remnant shocks are studied taking into account the energy loss of the shock owing to the production of nonthermal particles. The polarization degree depends on the downstream…
Balmer-dominated shocks in Type Ia supernova remnants offer powerful probes into collisionless shock physics and hints towards supernova progenitor environments. Prior studies focused on the hydrogen Balmer lines, which manifest as a…
Context: Observation of Balmer lines from the region around the forward shock of supernova remnants may provide precious information on the shock dynamics and on the efficiency of particle acceleration at the shock. Aims: We calculate the…
Balmer-dominated shells in supernova remnants (SNRs) are produced by collisionless shocks advancing into a partially neutral medium, and are most frequently associated with Type Ia supernovae. We have analyzed Hubble Space Telescope (HST)…
We present a new formalism to describe the ratios and profiles of emission lines from hydrogen in Balmer-dominated shocks. We use this model to interpret the measured widths and ratios of broad and narrow H-alpha, H-beta and Ly-alpha…
Explosive phenomena are known to trigger a wealth of shocks in warm plasma environments, including the solar chromosphere and molecular clouds where the medium consists of both ionised and neutral species. Partial ionisation is critical in…
The supernova remnant (SNR) RCW86 is among the few SNRs with Balmer-emission lines containing broad and narrow spectral components that trace fast, non-radiative shocks in partially-ionized gas.\ These are invaluable laboratories for…