Interaction of supernova remnants with interstellar clouds

外界冲击波对云层的压缩被认为是星际介质中恒星形成的重要触发机制。然而，激波云相互作用的物理原理仍远未完全被理解。过去对这个问题的研究往往忽略了关键的物理过程，或者依赖于关于几何设置的过于严格的假设。例如，到目前为止，还没有研究在三维模型中探索辐射冷却、磁场和(各向异性)热传导之间的复杂相互作用。在这个项目中，我们打算通过在大规模并行模式下应用我们的琅琊榜代码来执行这种复杂的模拟来弥合这一差距。自适应网格细化技术的使用将是充分解决激波锋面和激波影响产生的云结构细节的关键因素。我们认为，与平面激波情景相比，球状超新星遗迹撞击的云层试图更真实地模拟附近爆炸恒星激波诱导恒星形成的前期阶段。我们研究了上述物理过程对于与爆炸波起源不同的云距离的重要性，对应于残余物在与云碰撞时的不同演化阶段。通过这项研究，我们希望获得更好的洞察力，在哪些条件下激波触发的恒星形成可能成为可能。

Cloud compression by external shocks is believed to be an important triggering mechanism for star formation in the interstellar medium. Yet, the physics of shockcloud interactions is still far from being completely understood. Past work on the problem often ignored crucial physical processes or relied on too restrictive assumptions concerning the geometric setup. For instance, there is no research to date which explores the complex interplay between radiative cooling, magnetic fields, and (anisotropic) thermal conduction in a three-dimensional model. In this project we intend to bridge this gap by performing such sophisticated simulations applying our NIRVANA code in massively-parallel mode. The use of adaptive mesh refinement techniques will be a key ingredient in order to adequately resolve both the shock front and details of the cloud structure emanating from the shock impact. We consider clouds struck by a spherical supernova remnant as an attempt to model more realistically the pre-stage of shock-induced star formation by a nearby exploding star than planar shock scenarios can do. We investigate the importance of the mentioned physical processes for different cloud distances from the blast wave origin corresponding to different evolutionary stages of the remnant at the time it collides with the cloud. With this study, we expect to gain improved insight under which conditions shock-triggered star formation may become possible.