Interaction of Supernova Remnants with molecular clouds

GIACANI, E.

Workshop; LLAMA Workshop on Early Science; 2015

The supernova explosions that mark the death of massive stars usually occur near the giant molecular clouds that were the stellar birthplaces. Such a physical proximity often leads to mutual interactions that can strongly modify the physical processes taking place at the SNR shocks, as well as the physical and chemical conditions of the shocked clouds. The SNR shock waves propagating in molecular environments can compress, heat, excite, ionize and even dissociatemolecules. Besides, shocks in SNRs have been proved to be efficient accelerators of cosmic rays and, of particular interest, recent studies of gamma-ray emission from numerous SNRsdemonstrate that those interacting with molecular clouds show strong evidence of relativisticprotons. In this talk I will summarize the niche topics where LLAMA,  can have a large impact  on this research area.