We present seven years of radio observations of SN 1987A made with the
Australia Telescope Compact Array. At 1.4, 2.4, 4.8 and 8.6 GHz, the flux
density of the radio remnant has increased monotonically since emission was
redetected 1200 days after the explosion. On day 3200, the remnant was
expanding at 2800 +/- 400 km/s, which we interpret as indicating significant
deceleration of the fastest moving ejecta. Since day 1787 the spectral index
has remained constant at alpha = -0.95 +/- 0.04. These observations are all
consistent with the shock having encountered a denser, shocked, component of
the progenitor's stellar wind. At the current rate of expansion, the shock is
expected to encounter the inner optical ring in the year 2006 +/- 3.
Using super-resolution, we have also obtained 9 GHz images of the remnant
(resolution approx 0".5) at four epochs. The emission is distributed around the
rim of a near-circular shell, but has become increasingly asymmetric with time.
There are two "hotspots" to the east and west, aligned along the major axis of
the optical ring. This morphology is most likely indicative of an axisymmetric
circumstellar medium into which the shock is expanding, consistent with present
understanding of the progenitor star and its environment.Comment: 45 pages, LaTeX, including 15 PostScript figures. To appear in "The
Astrophysical Journal", volume 479 (20 Apr 1997