Isothermal Blast Wave Model of Supernova Remnants

The validity of the 'adiabatic' assumption in supernova-remnant calculations is examined, and the alternative extreme of an isothermal blast wave is explored. It is concluded that, because of thermal conductivity, the large temperature gradients predicted by the adiabatic model probably are not maintained in nature. Self-similar solutions to the hydrodynamic equations for an isothermal blast wave have been found and studied. These solutions are then used to determine the relationship between X-ray observations and inferred parameters of supernova remnants. A comparison of the present results with those for the adiabatic model indicates differences which are less than present observational uncertainties. It is concluded that most parameters of supernova remnants inferred from X-ray measurements are relatively insensitive to the specifics of the blast-wave model.