Inhomogeneities and the Modeling of Radio Supernovae

Observations of radio supernovae (SNe) often exhibit characteristics not readily accounted for by a homogeneous, spherically symmetric synchrotron model; e.g., flat-topped spectra/light curves. It is shown that many of these deviations from the standard model can be attributed to an inhomogeneous source structure. When inhomogeneities are present, the deduced radius of the source and, hence, the shock velocity, is sensitive to the details of the modeling. As the inhomogeneities are likely to result from the same mechanism that amplify the magnetic field, a comparison between observations and the detailed numerical simulations now under way may prove mutually beneficial. It is argued that the radio emission in Type Ib/c SNe has a small volume filling factor and comes from a narrow region associated with the forward shock, while the radio emission region in SN 1993J (Type IIb) is determined by the extent of the Rayleigh-Taylor instability emanating from the contact discontinuity. Attention is also drawn to the similarities between radio SNe and the structural properties of SN remnants.