A ONE-DIMENSIONAL MODEL FOR RAYLEIGH–TAYLOR INSTABILITY IN SUPERNOVA REMNANTS

Abstract

This study presents a method for approximating the multidimensional effects of Rayleigh–Taylor (RT) instability as a modification of the one-dimensional (1D) hydro equations. This modification is similar to the Shakura–Sunyaev α prescription for modeling the coarse-grained effects of turbulence in astrophysical disks. The model introduces several dimensionless tunable parameters that are calibrated by comparing with high-resolution two-dimensional axisymmetric numerical calculations of RT unstable flows. A complete description of the model is presented, along with a handful of test problems that demonstrate the extent to which the 1D model is able to reproduce multidimensional effects.