The Formation of a Cooling Layer in a Partially Optically Thick Shock

The mechanics of a radiative shock which has “collapsed,” or been compressed to high density, via radiative cooling is discussed. This process is relevant to an experiment in xenon gas that produced a driven, radiatively collapsed shock, and also to a simulation of the supernova 1987A shock wave passing through the outer layers of the star and into the low-density circumstellar material.