2007/04/23 by Andrei Gruzinov, Gruzinov, Andrei
Physics and Astronomy · #Laser-Plasma Interactions and Diagnostics #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.0704.3081
9 pages
arxiv created 2007/04/23 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01
A spherically symmetrical ultra-relativistic blast wave is not an attractor of a generic asymmetric explosion. Spherical symmetry is reached only by the time the blast wave slows down to non-relativistic velocities, when the Sedov-Taylor-von Neumann attractor solution sets in. We show however, that a directed relativistic explosion, with the explosion momentum close to the explosion energy, produces a blast wave with a universal intermediate asymptotic -- a selfsimilar directed ultra-relativistic blast wave. This universality might be of interest for the astrophysics of gamma-ray burst afterglows.