The fragmentation of expanding shells I: Limitations of the thin--shell approximation

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We investigate the gravitational fragmentation of expanding shells in the context of the linear thin--shell analysis. We make use of two very different numerical schemes; the FLASH Adaptive Mesh Refinement code and a version of the Benz Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics code. We find that the agreement between the two codes is excellent. We use our numerical results to test the thin--shell approximation and we find that the external pressure applied to the shell has a strong effect on the fragmentation process. In cases where shells are not pressure--confined, the shells thicken as they expand and hydrodynamic flows perpendicular to the plane of the shell suppress fragmentation at short wavelengths. If the shells are pressure--confined internally and externally, so that their thickness remains approximately constant during their expansion, the agreement with the analytical solution is better.