The Initial Evolution of SN 1993J: Piston Phase versus Standard Model

The evolution of SN 1993J is unlikely to be self-similar. Spatially resolved very long baseline interferometry observations show that the velocity of the outer rim of the radio emission region breaks at a few hundred days. The reason for this break remains largely unknown. It is argued here that it is due to the transition between an initial piston phase to a later phase, which is described by the standard model. The properties of the reverse shock are quite different for a piston phase as compared to the standard self-similar model. This affects the expected X-ray emission; for example, the reverse shock becomes transparent to X-ray emission much earlier in the piston phase. Furthermore, it is shown that the observed box-like emission line profiles of H α and other optical lines are consistent with an origin from the transition region between the envelope and the core. It is also pointed out that identifying the observed, simultaneous breaks at ≈3100 days in the radio and X-ray light curves with the reverse shock reaching the core makes it possible to directly relate the mass-loss rate of the progenitor star to observables.