Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2plfb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-25T07:15:31.288Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The radio remnant of Supernova 1987A at high frequencies and high resolution

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2014

G. Zanardo
Affiliation:
International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR), M468, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia. email: [email protected]
L. Staveley-Smith
Affiliation:
International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR), M468, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia. email: [email protected] Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for All-sky Astrophysics (CAASTRO)
C. -Y. Ng
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong
B. M. Gaensler
Affiliation:
Sydney Institute for Astronomy (SIfA), School of Physics, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for All-sky Astrophysics (CAASTRO)
T. M. Potter
Affiliation:
International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR), M468, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia. email: [email protected]
R. N. Manchester
Affiliation:
CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science, Australia Telescope National Facility, PO Box 76, Epping, NSW 1710, Australia
A. K. Tzioumis
Affiliation:
CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science, Australia Telescope National Facility, PO Box 76, Epping, NSW 1710, Australia
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

As the remnant of Supernova (SN) 1987A has been getting brighter over time, new observations at high frequencies have allowed imaging of the radio emission at unprecedented detail. We present a new radio image at 44 GHz of the supernova remnant (SNR), derived from observations performed with the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) in 2011. The diffraction-limited image has a resolution of 349×225 mas, which is the highest achieved to date in high-dynamic range images of the SNR. We also present a new image at 18 GHz, also derived from ATCA observations performed in 2011, which is super-resolved to 0″.25. The new 44 and 18 GHz images yield the first high-resolution spectral index map of the remnant. The comparison of the 44 GHz image with contemporaneous X-ray and Hα observations allows further investigations of the nature of the remnant asymmetry and sheds more light into the progenitor hypotheses and SN explosion. In light of simple free-free absorption models, we discuss the likelihood of detecting at 44 GHz the possible emission originating from a pulsar wind nebula (PWN) or a compact source in the centre of the remnant.

Type
Contributed Papers
Copyright
Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2014 

References

Ball, L., Crawford, D. F., Hunstead, R. W., Klamer, I., & McIntyre, V. J. 2001, ApJ, 549, 599Google Scholar
Blondin, J. M. & Lundqvist, P. 1993, ApJ, 405, 337CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crotts, A. P. S. & Heathcote, R. S. 2000, ApJ, 528, 426CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gaensler, B. M., Manchester, R. N., Staveley-Smith, L., Tzioumis, A. K., Reynolds, J. E., & Kesteven, M. J. 1997, ApJ, 479, 845CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gaensler, B. M. 1998, ApJ, 493, 781CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gaensler, B. M., Staveley-Smith, L., Manchester, R. N., Kesteven, M. J., Ball, L., & Tzioumis, A. K. 2007, in AIP Conf. Proc. 937, Supernova 1987A: 20 Years After: Supernovae and Gamma-Ray Bursters, ed. Immler, S., Weiler, K. W., & McCray, R. (New York: AIP), 86Google Scholar
Helder, E. A., Broos, P. S., Dewey, D., Dwek, E., McCray, R., Park, S., Racusin, J. L., Zhekov, S. A., & Burrows, D. N. 2013, ApJ, 764, 11CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jakobsen, P.et al. 1991, ApJ, 369, 63CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lakićević, M., Zanardo, G., van Loon, J. Th., Staveley-Smith, L., Potter, T., Ng, C.-Y., & Gaensler, B. M. 2012, A&A, 541, L2Google Scholar
Larsson, J.et al. 2011, Nature, 474, L484Google Scholar
Manchester, R. N., Gaensler, B. M., Wheaton, V. C., Staveley-Smith, L., Tzioumis, A. K., Bizunok, N. S., Kesteven, M. J., & Reynolds, J. E. 2002, PASA, 19, 207Google Scholar
Manchester, R. N., Gaensler, B. M., Staveley-Smith, L., Kesteven, M. J., & Tzioumis, A. K. 2005, ApJ, 628, L131Google Scholar
Martin, C. L. & Arnett, D. 1995 ApJ, 447, 378CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morris, T. & Podsiadlowski, P. 2007, Science, 315, 1103CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ng, C.-Y., Gaensler, B. M., Staveley-Smith, L., Manchester, R. N., Kesteven, M. J., Ball, L., & Tzioumis, A. K. 2008, ApJ, 684, 481CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ng, C.-Y.et al. 2011, ApJ (Letters), 728, L15CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Plait, P. C., Lundqvist, P., Chevalier, R. A., & Kirshner, R. P. 1995, ApJ, 439, 730Google Scholar
Podsiadlowski, Ph., Morris, T. S., & Ivanova, N. 2007, AIP Conf. Proc., 937, 125133CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Potter, T. M., Staveley-Smith, L., Ng, C.-Y., Ball, Lewis, Gaensler, B. M., Kesteven, M. J., Manchester, R. N., Tzioumis, A. K., & Zanardo, G. 2009, ApJ, 705, 261Google Scholar
Reynolds, J. E.et al. 1995, A&A, 304, 116Google Scholar
Staveley-Smith, L.et al. 1992, Nature, 355, 147CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Staveley-Smith, L.et al. 1993, Nature, 366, 136Google Scholar
Staveley-Smith, L., Gaensler, B. M., Manchester, R. N., Ball, L., Kesteven, M. J., & Tzioumis, A. K. 2007, in AIP Conf. Proc. 937, Supernova 1987A: 20 Years After: Supernovae and Gamma-Ray Bursters, ed. Immler, S., Weiler, K.W., & McCray, R., (New York: AIP), 96Google Scholar
Tingay, S.et al. 2009, in 8th International e-VLBI Workshop, Proc. Sci., 100.Google Scholar
Turtle, A. J., Campbell-Wilson, D., Manchester, R. N., Staveley-Smith, L., & Kesteven, M. J. 1990, IAU Circ. 5086, 2Google Scholar
Wilson, W. E.et al., MNRAS, 416, 832CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zanardo, G., Staveley-Smith, L., Ball, Lewis, Gaensler, B. M., Kesteven, M. J., Manchester, R. N., Ng, C.-Y., Tzioumis, A. K., & Potter, T. M. 2010, ApJ, 710, 1515CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zanardo, G., Staveley-Smith, L., Ng, C.-Y., Gaensler, B. M., Potter, T. M., Manchester, R. N., & Tzioumis, A. K. 2013, ApJ, 767, 98Google Scholar