Areas of Interest
Dr. Reynolds studies high-energy processes in supernova remnants,
active galaxies, and other locales, in particular the acceleration of
particles in strong shock waves. Synchrotron X-ray emission from shell
supernova remnants, originally proposed in 1981 (Reynolds and
Chevalier, ApJ, 245, 912), has now been amply confirmed and has become
an important tool for the study of shock acceleration (see Reynolds
2008 for a review). Reynolds has modeled the processes of shock
acceleration and magnetic-field amplification in shell remnants,
obtaining detailed predicted images and spectral shapes. Electron
energies of 100 TeV and above are now routinely deduced to be present
in shell supernova remnants. Synchrotron X-ray emission is often
mixed with thermal X-ray emission from gas shocked to temperatures of
10 MK and above, and Reynolds has performed observations with various
X-ray satellites to study both thermal and nonthermal processes.
Observations with the Chandra X-ray Observatory have led to the firm
identification of the type of Kepler's supernova of 1604 as a
thermonuclear (Type Ia) supernova, and to the discovery of the
youngest supernova remnant in the Galaxy, G1.9+0.3, only about 100
years old as observed at Earth. The results for Kepler, along with
another study of older Type Ia remnants in the Large Magellanic Cloud,
suggest the possibility of a new class of thermonuclear supernovae, of
considerable interest for studies of cosmic nucleosynthesis and the
origin of the elements, as well as for the use of Type Ia supernovae
for measuring the expansion of the Universe. Reynolds also studies
pulsar-wind nebulae, the bubbles of relativistic particles and
magnetic field inflated by pulsars born in supernova events. Recent
observations of both shell supernova remnants and pulsar-wind nebulae
have been done with the Spitzer Space Telescope at infrared
wavelengths, producing important information on the supernova event
and on the nature of dust grains in the interstellar medium.
Recent Publications
Deep Chandra Observations of the Crab-like Pulsar Wind Nebula G54.1+0.3 and Spitzer Spectroscopy of the Associated Infrared Shell.
Temim, T., Slane, P.O., Reynolds, S.P., Raymond, J.C., & Borkowski, K.J.
ApJ, 710, 309 (2010)
Circumstellar Shells in Absorption in Type Ia Supernovae.
Borkowski, K.J., Blondin, J.M., & Reynolds, S.P.
ApJ, 699, L64 (2009)
Synchrotron-Loss Spectral Breaks in Pulsar-Wind Nebulae and Extragalactic Jets.
Reynolds, S.P.
ApJ, 703, 662 (2009)
X-Ray Spectral Variations in the Youngest Galactic Supernova Remnant G1.9+0.3.
Reynolds, S.P., Borkowski, K.J., Green, D.A., Hwang, U., Harrus, I., & Petre, R.
ApJ 695, L149 -- L152 (2009)
Supernova Remnants at High Energy
invited review for Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics
46, 89-126 (2008)
Ejecta, Dust, and Synchrotron Radiation in SNR B0540-69.3: A More Crab-Like Remnant than the Crab
Williams, B.J., Borkowski, K.J., Reynolds, S.P., Raymond, J.C., Long,
K.S., Morse, J., Blair, W.P., Ghavamian, P., Sankrit, R., Hendrick,
S.P., Smith, R.C., Points, S., & Winkler, P.F.
ApJ
687, 1054-1069 (2008)
The Youngest Galactic Supernova Remnant: G1.9+0.3.
Reynolds, S.P., Borkowski, K.J., Green, D.A., Hwang, U., Harrus, I., & Petre, R.
ApJ
680, L41-L44 (2008)
The Infrared Detection of the Pulsar Wind Nebula in the Galactic Supernova Remnant 3C 58.
Slane, P., Helfand, D.J., Reynolds, S.P., Gaensler, B.M., Lemiere, A., & Wang, Z.
ApJ
676, L33-L36 (2008)
A Deep Chandra Observation of Kepler's Supernova Remnant: A Type Ia Event with Circumstellar Interaction
Reynolds, S.P., Borkowski, K.J., Hwang, U., Hughes, J.P., Badenes, C., Laming, J.M., & Blondin, J.M.
ApJ
668, L138-L138 (2007)
Dense, Fe-rich Ejecta in Supernova Remnants DEM L238 and DEM L249: A New Class of Type Ia Supernova?
Borkowski, K. J., Hendrick, S.P., & Reynolds, S.P.
ApJ
652, 1259-1267 (2006)
Dust Destruction in Type Ia Supernova Remnants in the Large Magellanic Cloud.
Borkowski, K.J., Williams, B.J., Reynolds, S.P., Blair, W.P.,
Ghavamian, P., Sankrit, R., Hendrick, S.P., Long, K.S., Raymond, J.C.,
Smith, R.C., Points, S., & Winkler, P.F.
ApJ
642, L141-L144 (2006)
Microphysics of Shock Acceleration from Observations of X-ray Synchrotron Emission from Supernova Remnants
Reynolds, S.P.
SpSciRev
33, 461-465 (arXiv:astro-ph/0308217) (2004)
Magnetohydrodynamic Models for the Structure of Pulsar-Wind Nebulae
Reynolds, S.P.
Proc. IAU Colloquium 192, Supernovae: 10
Years of SN1993J, ed. J.M. Marcaide & K.W. Weiler (Berlin: Springer),
posters supplement
161, (arXiv:astro-ph/0308483) (2003)
You can see more of Professor Reynolds' publications at The NCSU Scholarly Publications Repository
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