Morphology of synchrotron emission in young supernova remnants

In the framework of test-particle and cosmic-ray modified hydrodynamics, we calculate synchrotron emission radial profiles in young ejecta-dominated supernova remnants (SNRs) evolving in an ambient medium which is uniform in density and magnetic field. We find that, even without any magnetic field amplification by Raleigh-Taylor instabilities, the radio synchrotron emission peaks at the contact discontinuity because the magnetic field is compressed and is larger there than at the forward shock. The X-ray synchrotron emission sharply drops behind the forward shock as the highest energy electrons suffer severe radiative losses.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, Accepted for publication in A&

XMM-Newton observations of the supernova remnant RX J1713.7-3946 and its central source

We present new results from the observations of the supernova remnant (SNR) RX J1713.7–3946 (also G347.3–0.5) performed in five distinct pointings with the EPIC instrument on board the satellite XMM-Newton. RX J1713.7–3946 is a shelltype SNR dominated by synchrotron radiation in the X-rays. Its emission (emission measure and photon index) as well as the absorption along the line-of-sight has been characterized over the entire SNR. The X-ray mapping of the absorbing column density has revealed strong well-constrained variations (0.4 × 1022 cm−2 ≤ NH ≤ 1.1 × 1022 cm−2) and, particularly, a strong absorption in the southwest. Moreover, there are several clues indicating that the shock front of RX J1713.7–3946 is impacting the clouds responsible for the absorption as revealed for instance by the positive correlation between X-ray absorption and X-ray brightness along the western rims. The CO and H observations show that the inferred cumulative absorbing column densities are in excellent agreement with the X-ray findings in different parts of the remnant on condition that the SNR lies at a distance of 1.3 ± 0.4 kpc, probably in the Sagittarius galactic arm, instead of the commonly-accepted value of 6 kpc. An excess in the CO emission is found in the southwest suggesting that the absorption is due to molecular clouds. A search for OH masers in the southwestern region has been unsuccessful, possibly due to the low density of the clouds. The X-ray mapping of the photon index has also revealed strong variations (1.8 ≤ Γ ≤ 2.6). The spectrum is steep in the faint central regions and flat at the presumed shock locations, particularly in the southeast. Nevertheless, the regions where the shock impacts molecular clouds have a steeper spectrum than those where the shock propagates into a low density medium. The search for the thermal emission in RX J1713.7–3946 has been unsuccessful leading to a number density upper limit of 2 × 10−2 cm−3 in the ambient medium. This low density corresponds to a reasonable kinetic energy of the explosion provided that the remnant is less than a few thousand years old. A scenario based on a modified ambient medium due to the effect of a progenitor stellar wind is proposed and leads to an estimate of RX J1713.7–3946’s progenitor mass between 12 and 16 M. The X-ray bright central point source 1WGA J1713.4–3949 detected at the center of SNR RX J1713.7–3946 shows spectral properties very similar to those of the Compact Central Objects found in SNRs and consistent in terms of absorption with that of the central diffuse X-ray emission arising from the SNR. It is highly probable that the point source 1WGA J1713.4–3949 is the compact relic of RX J1713.7–3946’s supernova progenitor.Fil: Cassam Chenaï, G.. Centre D; FranciaFil: Decourchelle, A.. Centre D; FranciaFil: Ballet, J.;. Centre D; FranciaFil: Sauvageot, J. L.. Centre D; FranciaFil: Dubner, Gloria Mabel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciónes Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio. - Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio; ArgentinaFil: Giacani, Elsa Beatriz. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciónes Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio. - Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio; Argentin

The Persistence of Memory, or How the X-Ray Spectrum of SNR 0509-67.5 Reveals the Brightness of its Parent Type Ia Supernova

We examine the dynamics and X-ray spectrum of the young Type Ia supernova remnant 0509-67.5 in the context of the recent results obtained from the optical spectroscopy of its light echo. Our goal is to estimate the kinetic energy of the supernova explosion using Chandra and XMM-Newton observations of the supernova remnant, thus placing the birth event of 0509-67.5 in the sequence of dim to bright Type Ia supernovae. We base our analysis on a standard grid of one-dimensional delayed detonation explosion models, together with hydrodynamic and X-ray spectral calculations of the supernova remnant evolution. From the remnant dynamics and the properties of the O, Si, S, and Fe emission in its X-ray spectrum we conclude that 0509-67.5 was originated ~400 years ago by a bright, highly energetic Type Ia explosion similar to SN 1991T. Our best model has a kinetic energy of 1.4x10E51 erg and synthesizes 0.97 Msun of 56Ni. These results are in excellent agreement with the age estimate and spectroscopy from the light echo. We have thus established the first connection between a Type Ia supernova and its supernova remnant based on a detailed quantitative analysis of both objects.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figures, plus an exclusive astro-ph-only Appendix; ApJ in press, companion paper to Rest et al. 0

Geometric Measure of Indistinguishability for Groups of Identical Particles

The concept of p-orthogonality (1=< p =< n) between n-particle states is introduced. It generalizes common orthogonality, which is equivalent to n-orthogonality, and strong orthogonality between fermionic states, which is equivalent to 1-orthogonality. Within the class of non p-orthogonal states a finer measure of non p-orthogonality is provided by Araki's angles between p-internal spaces. The p-orthogonality concept is a geometric measure of indistinguishability that is independent of the representation chosen for the quantum states. It induces a new hierarchy of approximations for group function methods. The simplifications that occur in the calculation of matrix elements between p-orthogonal group functions are presented

Cosmic ray acceleration parameters from multi-wavelength observations. The case of SN 1006

The properties of the Galactic supernova remnant SN 1006 are theoretically reanalysed. Nonlinear kinetic theory is used to determine the acceleration efficiency of cosmic rays (CRs) in the supernova remnant SN 1006. The known range of astronomical parameters and the existing measurements of nonthermal emission are examined in order to define the values of the relevant physical parameters which determine the CR acceleration efficiency. It is shown that the parameter values -- proton injection rate, electron to proton ratio and downstream magnetic field strength -- are determined with the appropriate accuracy. In particular also the observed azimuthal variations in the gamma-ray morphology agree with the theoretical expectation. These parameter values, together with the reduction of the gamma-ray flux relative to a spherically symmetric acceleration geometry, allow a good fit to the existing data, including the recently detected TeV emission by H.E.S.S. SN 1006 represents the first example where a high efficiency of nuclear CR production, required for the Galactic CR sources, is consistently established.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in A&

Ab initio effective rotational Hamiltonians - A comparative study

40 pages dont 6 tablesInternational audienceTwo independent methods to obtain ab initio effective rotational Hamiltonians have been implemented recently. The first one is based on a generalization of perturbation theory to non-commutative rings, the other one on contact transformation techniques. In principle, both methods are able to give rotational Hamiltonians including centrugal distortion effects of arbitrary high orders. These methods are compared for the first time in this article with regard to calculations of the rotational levels of methane vibrational ground state

XMM-Newton evidence of shocked ISM in SN 1006: indications of hadronic acceleration

Shock fronts in young supernova remnants are the best candidates for being sites of cosmic ray acceleration up to a few PeV, though conclusive experimental evidence is still lacking. Hadron acceleration is expected to increase the shock compression ratio, providing higher postshock densities, but X-ray emission from shocked ambient medium has not firmly been detected yet in remnants where particle acceleration is at work. We exploited the deep observations of the XMM-Newton Large Program on SN 1006 to verify this prediction. We performed spatially resolved spectral analysis of a set of regions covering the southeastern rim of SN 1006. We studied the spatial distribution of the thermodynamic properties of the ambient medium and carefully verified the robustness of the result with respect to the analysis method. We detected the contribution of the shocked ambient medium. We also found that the postshock density of the interstellar medium significantly increases in regions where particle acceleration is efficient. Under the assumption of uniform preshock density, we found that the shock compression ratio reaches a value of ~6 in regions near the nonthermal limbs. Our results support the predictions of shock modification theory and indicate that effects of acceleration of cosmic ray hadrons on the postshock plasma can be observed in supernova remnants.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&

A joint spectro-imaging analysis of the XMM-Newton and HESS observations of the supernova remnant RX J1713.7-3946

The supernova remnant (SNR) RX J1713.7-3946 (also known as G347.3-0.5) is part of the class of remnants dominated by synchrotron emission in X-rays. It is also one of the few shell-type SNRs observed at TeV energies allowing to investigate particle acceleration at SNRs shock. Our goal is to compare spatial and spectral properties of the remnant in X- and gamma-rays to understand the nature of the TeV emission. This requires to study the remnant at the same spatial scale at both energies. To complement the non-thermal spectrum of the remnant, we attempt to provide a reliable estimate for the radio flux density. In radio, we revisited ATCA data and used HI and mid-infrared observations to disentangle the thermal from the non-thermal emission. In X-rays, we produced a new mosaic of the remnant and degraded the spatial resolution of the X-ray data to the resolution of the HESS instrument to perform spatially resolved spectroscopy at the same spatial scale in X- and gamma-rays. Radial profiles were obtained to investigate the extension of the emission at both energies. We found that part of the radio emission within the SNR contours is thermal in nature. Taking this into account, we provide new lower and upper limits for the integrated synchrotron flux of the remnant at 1.4 GHz of 22 Jy and 26 Jy respectively. In X-rays, we obtained the first full coverage of RX J1713.7-3946 with XMM-Newton. The spatial variation of the photon index seen at small scale in X-rays is smeared out at HESS resolution. A non-linear correlation between the X- and gamma-ray fluxes of the type Fx \propto Fg^2.41 is found.Comment: 13 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in A&A. An image of the remnant with higher definition will be distributed through the XMM-Newton image gallery (http://xmm.esac.esa.int/external/xmm_science/gallery/public/

Turbulence and particle acceleration in collisionless supernovae remnant shocks: II- Cosmic-ray transport

Supernovae remnant shock waves could be at the origin of cosmic rays up to energies in excess of the knee ($E\simeq3\cdot 10^{15}$eV) if the magnetic field is efficiently amplified by the streaming of accelerated particles in the shock precursor. This paper follows up on a previous paper \citep{pell05} which derived the properties of the MHD turbulence so generated, in particular its anisotropic character, its amplitude and its spectrum. In the present paper, we calculate the diffusion coefficients, also accounting for compression through the shock, and show that the predicted three-dimensional turbulence spectrum $k_\perp S_{3\rm d}(k_\parallel,k_\perp)\propto k_\parallel^{-1}k_\perp^{-\alpha}$ (with $k_\parallel$ and $k_\perp$ the wavenumber components along and perpendicular to the shock normal) generally leads to Bohm diffusion in the parallel direction. However, if the anisotropy is constrained by a relation of the form $k_\parallel \propto k_\perp^{2/3}$, which arises when the turbulent energy cascade occurs at a constant rate independent of scale, then the diffusion coefficient loses its Bohm scaling and scales as in isotropic Kolmogorov turbulence. We show that these diffusion coefficients allow to account for X-ray observations of supernova remnants. This paper also calculates the modification of the Fermi cycle due to the energy lost by cosmic rays in generating upstream turbulence and the concomittant steepening of the energy spectrum. Finally we confirm that cosmic rays can produced an amplified turbulence in young SNr during their free expansion phase such that the maximal energy is close to the knee and the spectral index is close to 2.3 in the warm phase of the interstellar mediumComment: 13 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics main journa

Gamma ray emission from SNR RX J1713.7-3946 and the origin of galactic cosmic rays

We calculate the flux of non-thermal radiations from the supernova remnant RX J1713.7-3946 in the context of the non-linear theory of particle acceleration at shocks, which allows us to take into account self-consistently the dynamical reaction of the accelerated particles, the generation of magnetic fields in the shock proximity and the dynamical reaction of the magnetic field on the plasma. When the fraction of particles which get accelerated is of order $\sim 10^{-4}$, we find that the strength of the magnetic field obtained as a result of streaming instability induced by cosmic rays is compatible with the interpretation of the X-ray emitting filaments being produced by strong synchrotron losses in $\sim 100 \mu G$ magnetic fields. If the X-ray filaments are explained in alternative ways, the constraint on the magnetic field downstream of the shock disappears and the HESS data can be marginally fit with ICS of relativistic electrons off a complex population of photons, tailored to comprise CMB and ambient IR/Optical photons. The fit, typically poor at the highest energies, requires a large density of target photons within the remnant; only a fraction of order $\sim 10^{-6}$ of the background particles gets accelerated; the local magnetic field is of order $\sim 20\mu G$ and the maximum energy of protons is much lower than the knee energy. Current HESS gamma ray observations combined with recent X-ray observations by Suzaku do not allow as yet to draw a definitive conclusion on whether RX J1713.7-3946 is an efficient cosmic ray accelerator, although at the present time a hadronic interpretation of HESS data seems more likely. We discuss the implications of our results for the GLAST gamma ray telescope, which should be able to discriminate the two scenarios discussed above.Comment: Accepted for Publication in MNRA