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Register a new userA Deep Near-Infrared [Fe II]+[Si I] Emission Line Image of the Supernova Remnant Cassiopeia A
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We present a long-exposure (~10 hr) image of the supernova (SN) remnant Cassiopeia A (Cas A) obtained with the UKIRT 3.8-m telescope using a narrow band filter centered at 1.644 um emission. The passband contains [Fe II] 1.644 um and [Si I] 1.645 um lines, and our `deep [Fe II]+[Si I] image provides an unprecedented panoramic view of Cas A, showing both shocked and unshocked SN ejecta together with shocked circumstellar medium at subarcsec (~0.7 arcsec or 0.012 pc) resolution. The diffuse emission from the unshocked SN ejecta has a form of clumps, filaments, and arcs, and their spatial distribution correlates well with that of the Spitzer [Si II] infrared emission, suggesting that the emission is likely due to [Si I] line not [Fe II] line as in shocked material. The structure of the optically-invisible western area of Cas A is clearly seen for the first time. The area is filled with many Quasi-Stationary Flocculi (QSFs) and fragments of the disrupted ejecta shell. We suggest that the anomalous radio properties in this area could be due to the increased number of such dense clumps. We identified 309 knots in the deep [Fe II]+[Si I] image and classified them into QSFs and fast-moving knots (FMKs). The total H+He mass of QSFs is ~0.23 Msun, implying that the mass fraction of dense clumps in the progenitors red-supergiant wind is 4--13%. The spatial distribution of QSFs suggests that there had been a highly asymmetric mass loss $10^4$--$10^5$ yr before the SN explosion. The mass of the [Fe II] line-emitting, shocked dense Fe ejecta is ~3x$10^{-5}$ Msun. The comparison with the ionic S-line dominated Hubble Space Telescope WFC3/IR image suggests that the outermost FMKs in the southeastern area are Fe-rich.
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We report the results of broadband (0.95--2.46 $mu$m) near-infrared spectroscopic observations of the Cassiopeia A supernova remnant. Using a clump-finding algorithm in two-dimensional dispersed images, we identify 63 knots from eight slit positions and derive their spectroscopic properties. All of the knots emit [Fe II] lines together with other ionic forbidden lines of heavy elements, and some of them also emit H and He lines. We identify 46 emission line features in total from the 63 knots and measure their fluxes and radial velocities. The results of our analyses of the emission line features based on principal component analysis show that the knots can be classified into three groups: (1) He-rich, (2) S-rich, and (3) Fe-rich knots. The He-rich knots have relatively small, $lesssim 200~{rm km~s}^{-1}$, line-of-sight speeds and radiate strong He I and [Fe II] lines resembling closely optical quasi-stationary flocculi of circumstellar medium, while the S-rich knots show strong lines from O-burning material with large radial velocities up to $sim 2000~{rm km~s}^{-1}$ indicating that they are supernova ejecta material known as fast-moving knots. The Fe-rich knots also have large radial velocities but show no lines from O-burning material. We discuss the origin of the Fe-rich knots and conclude that they are most likely pure Fe ejecta synthesized in the innermost region during the supernova explosion. The comparison of [Fe II] images with other waveband images shows that these dense Fe ejecta are mainly distributed along the southwestern shell just outside the unshocked $^{44}$Ti in the interior, supporting the presence of unshocked Fe associated with $^{44}$Ti.
We present complicated dust structures within multiple regions of the candidate supernova remnant (SNR) the `Tornado (G357.7-0.1) using observations with Spitzer and Herschel. We use Point Process Mapping, PPMAP, to investigate the distribution of dust in the Tornado at a resolution of 8, compared to the native telescope beams of 5-36. We find complex dust structures at multiple temperatures within both the head and the tail of the Tornado, ranging from 15 to 60K. Cool dust in the head forms a shell, with some overlap with the radio emission, which envelopes warm dust at the X-ray peak. Akin to the terrestrial sandy whirlwinds known as `Dust Devils, we find a large mass of dust contained within the Tornado. We derive a total dust mass for the Tornado head of 16.7 solar masses, assuming a dust absorption coefficient of kappa_300 =0.56m^2 kg^1, which can be explained by interstellar material swept up by a SNR expanding in a dense region. The X-ray, infra-red, and radio emission from the Tornado head indicate that this is a SNR. The origin of the tail is more unclear, although we propose that there is an X-ray binary embedded in the SNR, the outflow from which drives into the SNR shell. This interaction forms the helical tail structure in a similar manner to that of the SNR W50 and microquasar SS433.
We report the detection of near-infrared (NIR) [Fe II] (1.644 $mu$m) and H$_{2}$ 1-0 S(1) (2.122 $mu$m) line features associated with Galactic supernova remnants (SNRs) in the first quadrant using two narrowband imaging surveys, UWIFE and UWISH2. Among the total of 79 SNRs fully covered by both surveys, we found 19 [Fe II]-emitting and 19 H$_{2}$-emitting SNRs, giving a detection rate of 24% for each. Eleven SNRs show both emission features. The detection rate of [Fe II] and H$_{2}$ peaks at the Galactic longitude ($l$) of $40^{circ}$-$50^{circ}$ and $30^{circ}$-$40^{circ}$, respectively, and gradually decreases toward smaller/larger $l$. Five out of the eleven SNRs emitting both emission lines clearly show an [Fe II]-H$_{2}$ reversal, where H$_{2}$ emission features are found outside the SNR boundary in [Fe II] emission. Our NIR spectroscopy shows that the H$_{2}$ emission originates from collisionally excited H$_{2}$ gas. The brightest SNR in both [Fe II] and H$_{2}$ emissions is W49B, contributing more than 70% and 50% of the total [Fe II] 1.644 $mu$m ($2.0 times 10^4$ L$_{odot}$) and H$_{2}$ 2.122 $mu$m ($1.2 times 10^3$ L$_{odot}$) luminosities of the detected SNRs. The total [Fe II] 1.644 $mu$m luminosity of our Galaxy is a few times smaller than that expected from the SN rate using the correlation found in nearby starburst galaxies. We discuss possible explanations for this.
Phosphorus ($^{31}$P), which is essential for life, is thought to be synthesized in massive stars and dispersed into interstellar space when these stars explode as supernovae (SNe). Here we report on near-infrared spectroscopic observations of the young SN remnant Cassiopeia A, which show that the abundance ratio of phosphorus to the major nucleosynthetic product iron ($^{56}$Fe) in SN material is up to 100 times the average ratio of the Milky Way, confirming that phosphorus is produced in SNe. The observed range is compatible with predictions from SN nucleosynthetic models but not with the scenario in which the chemical elements in the inner SN layers are completely mixed by hydrodynamic instabilities during the explosion.
We present a model for the Galactic supernova remnant (SNR) VRO 42.05.01, suggesting that its intriguing morphology can be explained by a progenitor model of a supersonically moving, mass losing star. The mass outflows of the progenitor star were in the form of an asymmetric stellar wind focused on the equatorial plane of the star. The systemic motion of the parent star in combination with its asymmetric outflows excavated an extended wind bubble that revealed a similar structure to this of VRO 42.05.01. Currently the SNR is interacting with the wind bubble and it is dominantly shaped by it. Employing 2D hydrodynamic simulations we model VRO 42.05.01 under the framework of this model and we reproduce its overall morphological properties. We discuss the variations of our progenitor model in light of the current observational uncertainties.
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