Galactic Supernova Remnants: From radio frequencies to TeV

Supernova remnants are among the most valuable astrophysical laboratory to study numerous physical processes involved in their evolution and interaction with the surrounding interstellar medium. These objects are one of the most important sources of injection of mechanic energy and chemical enrichment of the interstellar mediumi, accelerate cosmic rays and generate strong shock waves in such conditions that cannot be reproduced in a terrestrial laboratory. The remnants can emit radiation from radio to gamma ray bands. In this report I describe the relevant radiation processes in the different spectral regimes and the information obtained by multifrequency observations of supernova remnants, including some recent results.Los remanentes de supernovas constituyen un laboratorio astrofısico muy valioso para estudiar los numerosos procesos fısicos que se desencadenan durante su evolucion y en la interaccion con el medio interestelar circundante. Ellos son una de las principales fuentes de inyeccion de energıa mecanica y enriquecimiento quımico del medio interestelar, aceleran rayos cosmicos y generan fuertes ondas de choque en condiciones que no se reproducen en un laboratorio terrestre. Los remanentes pueden emitir radiacion desde el rango de radio hasta los rayos gamma. En este informe describo los procesos fısicos generadores de la radiacion en las distintas bandas del espectro electromagnetico y la informacion brindada por las observaciones en cada una de esas bandas, incluyendo algunos resultados recientes.Fil: 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 neutral gas in the environs of the Wolf Rayet stars in the Circinus OB1 association

We have investigated the neutral hydrogen in the direction of the Circinus OB1 association with particular emphasis in the study of the vicinity of the WR stars WR 65 and WR 67. The HI line data were obtained with the Australia Telescope Compact Array with a synthesized beam of 4. 00 × 2. 07 and a velocity resolution of 1.1 km s−1. These data led to the discovery of a large cavity surrounded by an almost complete shell in agreement with the locations and distances of the two WR stars. We propose that the HI features constitute an interstellar bubble created by the powerful winds of the WR stars and their progenitors. By assuming a distance of 3 kpc, we calculate for this HI bubble a linear radius of 22 pc, a swept-up mass of 1600 M and an expansion velocity of more than 7 km s−1. High angular resolution IRAS infrared data (HIRES) reveal the presence of a ring with good spatial correlation with the HI shell. Eight IRAS protostellar candidates located around the HI cavity suggest that star formation may be taking place in the shell. Further investigation is required to confirm this proposition.Fil: 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; ArgentinaFil: 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; Argentin

An X-ray study of the supernova remnant G20.0-0.2 and its surroundings

Aims: We study the supernova remnant G20.0-0.2 and its surroundings in order to look for the high energy counterpart of the radio nebula and to find evidence of interaction between the shock front and the interstellar medium. Methods: We used Chandra archival observations to analyze the X-ray emission from the supernova remnant. The surrounding gas was investigated using data extracted from the Galactic Ring Survey, the VLA Galactic Plane Survey, the Galactic Legacy Infrared Midplane Survey Extraordinaire, and the Bolocam Galactic Plane Survey. Results: G20.0-0.2 shows diffuse X-ray emission from the central region of the radio remnant. Although the current data do not allow us to distinguish between a thermal or non-thermal origin for the X-ray diffuse emission, based on the radio properties we suggest a synchrotron origin as the most favorable. The hard X-ray point source CXO J182807.4-113516 appears located at the geometrical center of the remnant and is a potential candidate to be the pulsar powering the nebula. We found a molecular cloud adjacent to the flattest border of G20.0-0.2, indicating a probable interaction between the shock front of the remnant and the molecular gas. Several young stellar object candidates are found located in the brightest region of the molecular emission, and over a millimeter continuum source and a dark cloud. This distribution is an indication of an active star forming region around the supernova remnant.Comment: 13 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in A&A. Figures degraded to reduce file siz

Evolving supernova remnants in multiphase interstellar media

We performed three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulations to study the evolution of a supernova remnant (SNR) in a turbulent neutral atomic interstellar medium. The media used as background shares characteristics with the Solar neighbourhood and the SNR has mass and energy similar to those of a Type Ia object. Our initial conditions consist of dense clouds in a diluted medium, with the main difference between simulations being the average magnitude of the magnetic field. We measured amplifications of the magnetic energy of up to 34 per cent, and we generated synthetic maps that illustrate how the same object can show different apparent geometries and physical properties when observed through different lines of sight.Fil: Villagran Azuara, Marco Adrian. 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: Velazquez, Paula Florencia. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; MéxicoFil: Gomez, Daniel Osvaldo. 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; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Física; ArgentinaFil: Giacani, Elsa Beatriz. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Arquitectura, Diseño y Urbanismo; Argentina. 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

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

Radio and X-ray study of two multi-shell supernova remnants: Kes 79 and G352.7-0.1

Aims. We investigate two multi-shell galactic supernova remnants (SNRs), Kes 79, and G352.7−0.1, to understand the causes of this morphology. Methods. The research was carried out based on new and reprocessed archival VLA observations and XMM-Newton archival data. The surrounding gas was investigated based on data extracted from the HI Canadian Galactic Plane Survey, the 13CO Galactic Ring Survey, and the HI Southern Galactic Plane Survey. Results. The present study infers that the overall morphology of both SNRs is the result of the mass-loss history of their respective progenitor stars. Kes 79 is likely to 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 should 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 to be associated with the X-ray pulsar CXOU J185238.6+004020 in Kes 79. The X-ray study of G352.7−0.1 found that most of the thermal X-ray radiation completely fills the interior of the remnant and originates in heated ejecta. Characteristic parameters, such as radio flux, radio spectral index, age, distance, shock velocity, initial energy, and luminosity, were estimated for both SNRs.Fil: 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; ArgentinaFil: Smith, M. J. S.. Agencia Espacial Europea. XMM-Newton Science Operations Centre; EspañaFil: 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: Loiseau, N.. Agencia Espacial Europea. XMM-Newton Science Operations Centre; Españ

A blowout numerical model for the supernova remnant G352.7-0.1

We present 3D hydrodynamical simulations of the Galactic supernova remnant G352.7−0.1. This remnant is peculiar for having a shell-like inner ring structure and an outer arc in radio observations. In our model, the supernova explosion producing the remnant occurs inside and near the border of a spherical cloud with a density higher than that of the surrounding interstellar medium. A blowout is produced when the remnant reaches the border of the cloud. We have then used the results of our hydrodynamical simulations to calculate synthetic synchrotron radio emission maps, as well as synthetic X-ray maps. For some combinations of the particle acceleration mechanism and the direction of the line of sight, our radio maps display the peculiar morphology of G352.7−0.1 and reproduce the correct relative sizes of the main observed features. At the same time, the calculated X-ray maps reproduce the centrally peaked morphology of the observations.Fil: Toledo Roy, J. C.. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; MéxicoFil: Velazquez, P. F.. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; MéxicoFil: Esquivel, A.. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; MéxicoFil: 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

Origin of the bilateral structure of the supernova remnant G296.5+10

In this work, we have modelled the supernova remnant (SNR) G296.5+10, by means of 3D magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) simulations. This remnant belongs to the bilateral SNR group and has an additional striking feature: the rotation measure (RM) in its eastern and western parts are very different. In order to explain both the morphology observed in radio-continuum and the RM, we consider that the remnant expands into a medium shaped by the superposition of the magnetic field of the progenitor star with a constant Galactic magnetic field. We have also carried out a polarization study from our MHD results, obtaining synthetic maps of the linearly polarized intensity and the Stokes parameters. This study reveals that both the radio morphology and the reported RM for G296.5+10 can be explained if the quasi-parallel acceleration mechanism is taking place in the shock front of this remnant.Fil: Moranchel-Basurto, A.. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; MéxicoFil: Velazquez, P.. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; MéxicoFil: Giacani, Elsa Beatriz. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Arquitectura y Urbanismo; Argentina. 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: Toledo Roy, J. C.. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; MéxicoFil: Schneiter, E.. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; MéxicoFil: De Colle, F.. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; MéxicoFil: Esquivel, A.. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; Méxic

HESS J1943+213: a non-classical high-frequency-peaked BL Lac object

HESS J1943+213 is an unidentified TeV source that is likely a high-frequency-peaked BL Lac (HBL) object but also compatible with a pulsar wind nebula (PWN) nature. Each of these enormously different astronomical interpretations is supported by some of the observed unusual characteristics. In order to finally classify and understand this object we took a three-pronged approach, through time-domain, high angular resolution, and multi-frequency radio studies. First, our deep time-domain observations with the Arecibo telescope failed to uncover the putative pulsar powering the proposed PWN. We conclude with ~70% certainty that HESS J1943+213 does not host a pulsar. Second, long-baseline interferometry of the source with e-MERLIN at 1.5- and 5- GHz, shows only a core, a point source at ~ 1 - 100 milli-arcsecond resolution. Its 2013 flux density is about one-third lower than detected in 2011 observations with similar resolution. This radio variability of the core strengthens the HBL object hypothesis. More evidence against the PWN scenario comes, third, from the radio spectrum we compiled. The extended structure follows a power-law behavior with spectral index alpha = -0.54 +- 0.04 while the core component is flat spectrum (alpha = -0.03 +- 0.03). In contrast, the radio synchrotron emission of PWNe predicts a single power-law distribution. Overall we rule out the PWN hypothesis and conclude the source is a BL Lac object. The consistently high fraction (70%) of the flux density from the extended structure then leads us to conclude that HESS J1943+213 must be a non-classical HBL object.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, ApJ submitte

A bright-rimmed cloud sculpted by the Hii region Sh2-48

Aims. To characterize a bright-rimmed cloud embedded in the Hii region Sh2-48 searching for evidence of triggered star formation. Methods. We carried out observations towards a region of 20 × 20 centered at RA=18h 22m 11.39s , dec.=-14 350 24.8100(J2000) using the Atacama Submillimeter Telescope Experiment (ASTE; Chile) 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 about 2200 . We also present radio continuum observations at 5 GHz carried out with the Jansky Very Large Array (JVLA; EEUU) interferometer with a synthetized beam of 700 × 500 . The molecular transitions are used to study the distribution and kinematics of the molecular gas of the bright-rimmed cloud. The radio continuum data is used to characterize the ionized gas located at the illuminated border of this molecular condensation. Combining these observations with infrared public data allows us to build up a comprehensive picture of the current state of star formation within this cloud. Results. The analysis of our molecular observations reveals the presence of a relatively dense clump with n(H2) ~ 3 × 103cm−3, located in projection onto the interior of the Hii region Sh2-48. The emission distribution of the four observed molecular transitions has, at VLSR ~ 38 kms−1, morphological anti-correlation with the bright-rimmed cloud as seen in the optical emission. From the new radio continuum observations we identify a thin layer of ionized gas located at the border of the clump which is facing to the ionizing star. The ionized gas has an electron density of about 73 cm−3 which is a factor three higher than the typical critical density (nc ~ 25 cm−3) above which an ionized boundary layer can be formed and be maintained. This fact supports the hypothesis that the clump is being photoionized by the nearby O9.5V star, BD-14 5014. From the evaluation of the pressure balance between the ionized and molecular gas, we conclude that the clump would be in a pre-pressure balance state with the shocks being driven into the surface layer. Among the five YSO candidates found in the region, two of them (class I), are placed slightly beyond the bright rim suggesting that their formation could have been triggered via the radiation-driven implosion process.Fil: Ortega, Martin Eduardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio(i); Argentina;Fil: Paron, Sergio Ariel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio(i); Argentina; Universidad de Chile;Fil: Giacani, Elsa Beatriz. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio(i); Argentina;Fil: Rubio, M.. Universidad de Chile. Departamento de Astronomía; Chile;Fil: Dubner, Gloria Mabel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio(i); Argentina