Numerical simulations of a shock-filament interaction

Abstract

We present 3D hydrodynamic adiabatic simulations of a shock interacting with a dense, elongated cloud. We compare how the nature of the interaction changes with the filament's length and its orientation to the shock, and with the shock Mach number and the density contrast of the filament. We then examine the differences with respect to 3D spherical-cloud calculations. We find significant differences in the morphology of the interaction when M = 10 and X = 102: in many cases, three parallel rolls are formed, and spread furthermore apart with time, and periodic vortex shedding can occur off the ends of oblique filaments. Sideways-on filaments are accelerated more quickly, and initially lose mass more quickly than spherical clouds due to their greater surface area to volume ratio. However, at late stages, they lose mass more slowly, due to the reduced relative speed between the filament and the post-shock flow. The acceleration and mixing time-scales can vary by a factor of 2 as the filament orientation changes. Oblique filaments can achieve transverse velocities up to 10 per cent of the shock speed. Some aspects of our simulations are compared against experimental and numerical work on rigid cylinders.