Dust destruction by the supernova remnant forward shock in a turbulent interstellar medium

¹ Sterrenkundig Observatorium, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 299, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
² Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK

^★ Corresponding author: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Received: 18 July 2025
Accepted: 30 November 2025

Abstract

Context. While supernova remnants (SNRs) have been observed to produce up to 1 M_⊙ of dust, the amount of dust destroyed by the forward shock is poorly constrained, raising the question of whether they are net dust producers or destroyers.

Aims. Our aim was to estimate the dust destruction efficiency of SNR forward shocks in a realistically turbulent interstellar medium (ISM) during their most destructive phase, and to assess dust shielding by high-density filaments during this period.

Methods. We ran 3D high-resolution turbulence simulations for different turbulent Mach numbers (0–3) and average ISM densities (1–100 cm⁻³) to resemble observations of the turbulent ISM. We then set off a supernova explosion to trace its 3D magnetohydrodynamic evolution for the first 10 kyr. Finally, we ran post-processing simulations to investigate the dust transport and destruction by the SNR forward shock, taking into account gas and plasma drag, kinetic and thermal sputtering, and grain–grain collisions, and considering either silicates or carbonaceous dust.

Results. The dust destruction rate of the forward shock strongly depends on the average ISM density and turbulence strength, varying in the range 27–92% (0.85–11.0 M_⊙) in the studied 10 kyr. Overall, dust is less efficiently destroyed in a low-density medium (1 cm⁻³, 27–57%) than in intermediate-density (10 cm⁻³, 46–92%) and high-density (100 cm⁻³, 73–87%) cases. The forward shock is found to destroy 8–34% less dust in high Mach turbulence compared to a homogeneous medium. Furthermore, carbonaceous grains are up to 21% more robust than silicates.

Conclusions. Filaments can partly shield dust from destruction in the first 10 kyr; however, always more than 0.85 M_⊙ of dust is destroyed, making most SNRs dust sinks under the conditions explored in this work. The destruction efficiency of the SNRs with less than 1 M_⊙ of destroyed dust has not yet plateaued, so that they are most likely also net dust destroyers by the end of their lifetimes.