Relativistic Jets from Collapsars

Using a collapsar progenitor model of MacFadyen & Woosley, we have simulated the propagation of an axisymmetric jet through a collapsing rotating massive star with the GENESIS multidimensional relativistic hydrodynamic code. The jet forms as a consequence of an assumed (constant or variable) energy deposition in the range of 1050-1051 ergs s-1 within a 30° cone around the rotation axis. The jet flow is strongly beamed (approximately less than a few degrees), spatially inhomogeneous, and time dependent. The jet reaches the surface of the stellar progenitor (R* = 2.98 × 1010 cm) intact. At breakout, the maximum Lorentz factor of the jet flow is 33. After breakout, the jet accelerates into the circumstellar medium, whose density is assumed to decrease exponentially and then become constant, ρext = 10-5 g cm-3. Outside the star, the flow begins to expand laterally also (v ~ c), but the beam remains very well collimated. At a distance of 2.54 R*, where the simulation ends, the Lorentz factor has increased to 44.