390 research outputs found
A hadronic scenario for HESS J1818-154
Aims: G15.4+0.1 is a faint supernova remnant (SNR) that has recently been
associated with the gamma-ray source HESS J1818-154. We investigate a hadronic
scenario for the production of the gamma-ray emission. Methods: Molecular 13CO
(J=1-0) taken from the Galactic Ring Survey (GRS) and neutral hydrogen (HI)
data from the Southern Galactic Plane Survey (SGPS) have been used in
combination with new 1420 MHz radio continuum observations carried out with the
Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT). Results: From the new observations and
analysis of archival data we provided for the first time a reliable estimate
for the distance to the SNR G15.4+0.1 and discovered molecular clouds located
at the same distance. On the basis of HI absorption features, we estimate the
distance to G15.4+0.1 in 4.8+/-1.0 kpc. The 13CO observations clearly show a
molecular cloud about 5 arcmin in size with two bright clumps, labeled A and B,
clump A positionally associated with the location of HESS J1818-154 and clump B
in coincidence with the brightest northern border of the radio SNR shell. The
HI absorption and the 13CO emission study indicates a possible interaction
between the molecular material and the remnant. We estimate the masses and
densities of the molecular gas as (1.2+/-0.5)X10^3 M_sun and (1.5+/-0.4)X10^3
cm^-3 for clump A and (3.0+/-0.7)X10^3 M_sun and (1.1+/-0.3)X10^3 cm^-3 for
clump B. Calculations show that the average density of the molecular clump A is
sufficient to produce the detected gamma-ray flux, thus favoring a hadronic
origin for the high-energy emission.Comment: Accepted to be published in Astronomy and Astrophysics Letter
Feature-tailored spectroscopic analysis of the SNR Puppis A in X-rays
We introduce a distinct method to perform spatially-resolved spectral
analysis of astronomical sources with highly structured X-ray emission. The
method measures the surface brightness of neighbouring pixels to adaptively
size and shape each region, thus the spectra from the bright and faint
filamentary structures evident in the broadband images can be extracted. As a
test case, we present the spectral analysis of the complete X-ray emitting
plasma in the supernova remnant Puppis A observed with XMM-Newton and Chandra.
Given the angular size of Puppis A, many pointings with different observational
configurations have to be combined, presenting a challenge to any method of
spatially-resolved spectroscopy. From the fit of a plane-parallel shocked
plasma model we find that temperature, absorption column, ionization time
scale, emission measure and elemental abundances of O, Ne, Mg, Si, S and Fe,
are smoothly distributed in the remnant. Some regions with overabundances of
O-Ne-Mg, previously characterized as ejecta material, were automatically
selected by our method, proving the excellent response of the technique. This
method is an advantageous tool for the exploitation of archival X-ray data.Comment: Accepted in Astronomy & Astrophysic
The molecular clump towards the eastern border of SNR G18.8+0.3
The eastern border of the SNR G18.8+0.3, close to an HII regions complex, is
a very interesting region to study the molecular gas that it is probably in
contact with the SNR shock front. We observed the aforementioned region using
the Atacama Submillimeter Telescope Experiment (ASTE) in the 12CO J=3-2, 13CO
J=3-2, HCO+ J=4-3, and CS J=7-6 lines with an angular resolution of 22". To
complement these observations, we analyzed IR, submillimeter and radio
continuum archival data. In this work, we clearly show that the radio continuum
"protrusion" that was early thought to belong to the SNR is an HII regions
complex deeply embedded in a molecular clump. The new molecular observations
reveal that this dense clump, belonging to an extended molecular cloud that
surrounds the SNR southeast border, is not physically in contact with SNR
G18.8+0.3, suggesting that the SNR shock front have not yet reached it or maybe
they are located at different distances. We found some young stellar objects
embedded in the molecular clump, suggesting that their formation should be
approximately coeval with the SN explosion.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A (Sept. 7, 2012
Radio and X-ray study of two multi-shell Supernova Remnants: Kes79 and G352.7-0.1
We investigate two multi-shell galactic supernova remnants (SNRs), Kes79 and
G352.7-0.1, to understand the causes of such morphology. The research was
carried out based on new and reprocessed archival VLA observations and
XMM-Newton archival data. The surrounding was investigated based on data
extracted from the HI Canadian Galactic Plane Survey, the 13^CO Galactic Ring
Survey and the HI Southern Galactic Plane Survey. The present study revealed
that the overall morphology of both SNRs is the result of the mass-loss history
of their respective progenitor stars. Kes79 would be the product of the
gravitational collapse of a massive O9 star evolving near a molecular cloud and
within the precursor's wind-driven bubble, while G352.7-0.1 would be the result
of interactions of the SNR with an asymmetric wind from the progenitor together
with projection effects. No radio point source or pulsar wind nebula was found
associated with the X-ray pulsar CXOU J185238.6+004020 in Kes79. The X-ray
study of G352.7-0.1, on its hand, revealed that most of the thermal X-ray
radiation completely fills in the interior of the remnant and originates in
heated ejecta. Characteristic parameters, like radio flux, radio spectral
index, age, distance, shock velocity, initial energy and luminosity, were
estimated for both SNRs.Comment: 14 pages, 13 figures. Accepted to be published in Astronomy and
Astrophysic
The most complete and detailed X-ray view of the SNR Puppis A
With the purpose of producing the first detailed full view of Puppis A in
X-rays, we carried out new XMM-Newton observations covering the missing regions
in the southern half of the supernova remnant (SNR) and combined them with
existing XMM-Newton and Chandra data. The new images were produced in the
0.3-0.7, 0.7-1.0 and 1.0-8.0 energy bands. We investigated the SNR morphology
in detail, carried out a multi-wavelength analysis and estimated the flux
density and luminosity of the whole SNR. The complex structure observed across
the remnant confirms that Puppis A evolves in an inhomogeneous, probably knotty
interstellar medium. The southwestern corner includes filaments that perfectly
correlate with radio features suggested to be associated with shock/cloud
interaction. In the northern half of Puppis A the comparison with Spitzer
infrared images shows an excellent correspondence between X-rays and 24 and 70
microns emission features, while to the south there are some matched and other
unmatched features. X-ray flux densities of 12.6 X 10^-9, 6.2 X 10^-9, and 2.8
X 10^-9 erg cm^-2 s^-1 were derived for the 0.3-0.7, 0.7-1.0 and 1.0-8.0 keV
bands, respectively. At the assumed distance of 2.2 kpc, the total X-ray
luminosity between 0.3 and 8.0 keV is 1.2 X 10^37 erg s^-1. We also collected
and updated the broad-band data of Puppis A between radio and GeV gamma-ray
range, producing its spectral energy distribution. To provide constraints to
the high-energy emission models, we re-analyzed radio data, estimating the
energy content in accelerated particles to be Umin=4.8 X 10^49 erg and the
magnetic field strength B=26 muG.Comment: Article accepted to be published in the Astronomy and Astrophysics
Main Journa
The neutral gas in the environs of the Geminga gamma-ray pulsar
We present a high-resolution (24 arcsec) study of the HI interstellar gas
distribution around the radio-quiet neutron star Geminga. Based on Very Large
Array (VLA) and MPIfR Effelsberg telescope data, we analyzed a 40' x 40' field
around Geminga. These observations have revealed the presence of a neutral gas
shell, 0.4 pc in radius, with an associated HI mass of 0.8 Msun, which
surrounds Geminga at a radial velocity compatible with the kinematical distance
of the neutron star. In addition, morphological agreement is observed between
the internal face of the HI shell and the brightest structure of Geminga's tail
observed in X-rays.We explore the possibility that this morphological agreement
is the result of a physical association.Comment: One tarfile including a Latex file (7 pages) and two figures. Paper
accepted for publication in Advances in Space Research; typos corrected;
changes in section Results and Discussion after referee's suggestions. S.
Johnston's affilation correcte
The Progenitor of the New COMPTEL/ROSAT Supernova Remnant in Vela
We show that (1) the newly discovered supernova remnant (SNR), GRO
J0852--4642/RX J0852.0--4622, was created by a core-collapse supernova of a
massive star, and (2) the same supernova event which produced the Ti
detected by COMPTEL from this source is probably also responsible for a large
fraction of the observed Al emission in the Vela region detected by the
same instrument. The first conclusion is based on the fact that the remnant is
currently expanding too slowly given its young age for it to be caused by a
Type Ia supernova. If the current SNR shell expansion speed is greater than
3000 km/s, a Type II supernova with a moderate kinetic energy
exploding at about 150 pc away is favored. If the SNR expansion speed is lower
than 2000 km s, as derived naively from the X-ray data, a much more
energetic supernova is required to have occurred at pc away in a
dense environment at the edge of the Gum nebula. This progenitor has a
preferred ejecta mass of and therefore, it is probably a Type
Ib or Type Ic supernova. However, the required high ambient density of in this scenario is difficult to reconcile with the regional CO
data. A combination of our estimates of the age/energetics of the new SNR and
the almost perfect positional coincidence of the new SNR with the centroid of
the COMPTEL Al emission feature of the Vela region strongly favors a
causal connection. If confirmed, this will be the first case where both
Ti and Al are detected from the same young SNR and together they
can be used to select preferred theoretical core-collapse supernova models.Comment: Revised, 10 pages, 2 figures, to appear in ApJ Lett Vol.514 on April
1, 199
The Supernova Remnant W44: confirmations and challenges for cosmic-ray acceleration
The middle-aged supernova remnant (SNR) W44 has recently attracted attention
because of its relevance regarding the origin of Galactic cosmic-rays. The
gamma-ray missions AGILE and Fermi have established, for the first time for a
SNR, the spectral continuum below 200 MeV which can be attributed to neutral
pion emission. Confirming the hadronic origin of the gamma-ray emission near
100 MeV is then of the greatest importance. Our paper is focused on a global
re-assessment of all available data and models of particle acceleration in W44,
with the goal of determining on a firm ground the hadronic and leptonic
contributions to the overall spectrum. We also present new gamma-ray and CO
NANTEN2 data on W44, and compare them with recently published AGILE and Fermi
data. Our analysis strengthens previous studies and observations of the W44
complex environment and provides new information for a more detailed modeling.
In particular, we determine that the average gas density of the regions
emitting 100 MeV - 10 GeV gamma-rays is relatively high (n= 250 - 300 cm^-3).
The hadronic interpretation of the gamma-ray spectrum of W44 is viable, and
supported by strong evidence. It implies a relatively large value for the
average magnetic field (B > 10^2 microG) in the SNR surroundings, sign of field
amplification by shock-driven turbulence. Our new analysis establishes that the
spectral index of the proton energy distribution function is p1 = 2.2 +/- 0.1
at low energies and p2 = 3.2 +/- 0.1 at high energies. We critically discuss
hadronic versus leptonic-only models of emission taking into account
simultaneously radio and gamma-ray data. We find that the leptonic models are
disfavored by the combination of radio and gamma-ray data. Having determined
the hadronic nature of the gamma-ray emission on firm ground, a number of
theoretical challenges remains to be addressed.Comment: 13 pages, 11 figures, accepted by A&
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