Terrestrial Effects of Nearby Supernovae: Updated Modeling
We have reevaluated recent studies of the effects on Earth by cosmic rays (CRs) from nearby supernovae (SNe) at 100 and 50 pc, in the diffusive transport CR case, here including an early-time suppression at lower CR energies neglected in the previous works. Inclusion of this suppression leads to low...
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
IOP Publishing
2023-01-01
|
| Series: | The Astrophysical Journal |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/accf8a |
| _version_ | 1797698499432677376 |
|---|---|
| author | Brian C. Thomas Alexander M. Yelland |
| author_facet | Brian C. Thomas Alexander M. Yelland |
| author_sort | Brian C. Thomas |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | We have reevaluated recent studies of the effects on Earth by cosmic rays (CRs) from nearby supernovae (SNe) at 100 and 50 pc, in the diffusive transport CR case, here including an early-time suppression at lower CR energies neglected in the previous works. Inclusion of this suppression leads to lower overall CR fluxes at early times, lower atmospheric ionization, smaller resulting ozone depletion, and lower sea-level muon radiation doses. Differences in the atmospheric impacts are most pronounced for the 100 pc case with less significant differences in the 50 pc case. We find a greater discrepancy in the modeled sea-level muon radiation dose, with significantly smaller dose values in the 50 pc case; our results indicate it is unlikely that muon radiation is a significant threat to the biosphere for SNe beyond 20 pc, for the diffusive transport case. We have also performed new modeling of the effects of SN CRs at 20 and 10 pc. Overall, our results indicate that, considering only the effects of CRs, the “lethal” SN distance should be closer to 20 pc rather than the typically quoted 8–10 pc. Recent work on extended SN X-ray emission indicates significant effects out to 50 pc and therefore the case is now strong for increasing the standard SN lethal distance to at least 20 pc. This has implications for studies of the history of life on Earth as well as considerations of habitability in the Galaxy. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T03:55:00Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b4c23b5c329643f8af08ea383f33a6f3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1538-4357 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T03:55:00Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Astrophysical Journal |
| spelling | doaj.art-b4c23b5c329643f8af08ea383f33a6f32023-09-03T12:03:19ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572023-01-0195014110.3847/1538-4357/accf8aTerrestrial Effects of Nearby Supernovae: Updated ModelingBrian C. Thomas0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9091-0830Alexander M. Yelland1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1462-0265Department of Physics and Astronomy, Washburn University , Topeka, KS 66621 USA ; brian.thomas@washburn.eduDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, Washburn University , Topeka, KS 66621 USA ; brian.thomas@washburn.edu; Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge, MA 02139, USAWe have reevaluated recent studies of the effects on Earth by cosmic rays (CRs) from nearby supernovae (SNe) at 100 and 50 pc, in the diffusive transport CR case, here including an early-time suppression at lower CR energies neglected in the previous works. Inclusion of this suppression leads to lower overall CR fluxes at early times, lower atmospheric ionization, smaller resulting ozone depletion, and lower sea-level muon radiation doses. Differences in the atmospheric impacts are most pronounced for the 100 pc case with less significant differences in the 50 pc case. We find a greater discrepancy in the modeled sea-level muon radiation dose, with significantly smaller dose values in the 50 pc case; our results indicate it is unlikely that muon radiation is a significant threat to the biosphere for SNe beyond 20 pc, for the diffusive transport case. We have also performed new modeling of the effects of SN CRs at 20 and 10 pc. Overall, our results indicate that, considering only the effects of CRs, the “lethal” SN distance should be closer to 20 pc rather than the typically quoted 8–10 pc. Recent work on extended SN X-ray emission indicates significant effects out to 50 pc and therefore the case is now strong for increasing the standard SN lethal distance to at least 20 pc. This has implications for studies of the history of life on Earth as well as considerations of habitability in the Galaxy.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/accf8aSupernovaeOzone layer |
| spellingShingle | Brian C. Thomas Alexander M. Yelland Terrestrial Effects of Nearby Supernovae: Updated Modeling The Astrophysical Journal Supernovae Ozone layer |
| title | Terrestrial Effects of Nearby Supernovae: Updated Modeling |
| title_full | Terrestrial Effects of Nearby Supernovae: Updated Modeling |
| title_fullStr | Terrestrial Effects of Nearby Supernovae: Updated Modeling |
| title_full_unstemmed | Terrestrial Effects of Nearby Supernovae: Updated Modeling |
| title_short | Terrestrial Effects of Nearby Supernovae: Updated Modeling |
| title_sort | terrestrial effects of nearby supernovae updated modeling |
| topic | Supernovae Ozone layer |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/accf8a |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT briancthomas terrestrialeffectsofnearbysupernovaeupdatedmodeling AT alexandermyelland terrestrialeffectsofnearbysupernovaeupdatedmodeling |