Observational Signatures of Sub-Relativistic Meteors. (arXiv:2002.01476v1 [astro-ph.EP])
<a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Siraj_A/0/1/0/all/0/1">Amir Siraj</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Loeb_A/0/1/0/all/0/1">Abraham Loeb</a>
It is currently unknown whether solid particles larger than dust from
supernova ejecta rain down on Earth at high speeds. We develop a hydrodynamic
and radiative model to explore the detectability of $gtrsim 1 mathrm{; mm}$
sub-relativistic meteors. We find that a large fraction of the meteor energy
during its passage through the Earth’s upper atmosphere powers the adiabatic
expansion of a hot plasma cylinder, giving rise to acoustic shocks detectable
by infrasound microphones. Additionally, a global network of several hundred
all-sky optical cameras with a time resolution of $lesssim 10^{-4}
mathrm{;s}$ would be capable of detecting $gtrsim 1 mathrm{; mm}$
sub-relativistic meteors.
It is currently unknown whether solid particles larger than dust from
supernova ejecta rain down on Earth at high speeds. We develop a hydrodynamic
and radiative model to explore the detectability of $gtrsim 1 mathrm{; mm}$
sub-relativistic meteors. We find that a large fraction of the meteor energy
during its passage through the Earth’s upper atmosphere powers the adiabatic
expansion of a hot plasma cylinder, giving rise to acoustic shocks detectable
by infrasound microphones. Additionally, a global network of several hundred
all-sky optical cameras with a time resolution of $lesssim 10^{-4}
mathrm{;s}$ would be capable of detecting $gtrsim 1 mathrm{; mm}$
sub-relativistic meteors.
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