Schedule Oct 02, 2009
Particle Acceleration in Supernova Remnants
Klara Schure (Utrecht Univ.)

Supernova remnants are efficient particle accelerators. In their blast waves, electrons and protons are thought to be accelerated by the diffusive shock acceleration mechanism to energies of 10^15 eV.

We adapted an MHD code (AMRVAC) to include particle acceleration. We are using stochastic differential equations to calculate their time-dependent distribution function in the test-particle approach. With this code, we simultaneously calculate the evolution of the supernova remnant and the particle spectrum. This allows us to obtain detailed information on the dependence of the spectrum on e.g. time, the topology of the magnetic field, the location within the remnant, and the equation of state. I will present our most recent results.

Author entry (protected)