Cassiopeia A: Seeing a Supernova Remnant in a New Light

Court, Travis

Cassiopeia A: Seeing a Supernova Remnant in a New Light

Persistent URL

http://hdl.handle.net/10456/46111

Author(s)

Court, Travis

Date Issued

April 20, 2018

Abstract

Cassiopeia A (Cas A) is a supernova remnant in the Milky Way galaxy. The supernova itself has been identified as a Type IIb supernova based on the spectra from the remnant. The spatial asymmetry of the spectra is the inspiration for multiple research projects and models. We model Cas A pre-supernova as a binary merger product of a 16 M☉ red giant star. For the secondary star, we vary its mass, radius, and separation from the primary. We investigate the role of these variables on the radial velocity and distribution of ejected mass. Our asymmetric outflow model will then be used as a starting point for a supernova explosion simulation to ultimately test if Cas A could have been a merger of two stars before going supernova.

Major

Physics

Honors

Physics, 2018

First Reader(s)

Lombardi, James C., Jr. (Jamie)