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Register a new userNew high-frequency radio observations of the Cygnus Loop supernova remnant with the Italian radio telescopes
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Supernova remnants (SNRs) represent a powerful laboratory to study the Cosmic-Ray acceleration processes at the shocks, and their relation to the properties of the circumstellar medium. With the aim of studying the high-frequency radio emission and investigating the energy distribution of accelerated electrons and the magnetic field conditions, we performed single-dish observations of the large and complex Cygnus Loop SNR from 7.0 to 24.8 GHz with the Medicina and the Sardinia Radio Telescope, focusing on the northern filament (NGC 6992) and the southern shell. Both regions show a spectrum well fitted by a power-law function ($Spropto u^{-alpha}$), with spectral index $alpha=0.45pm0.05$ for NGC 6992 and $alpha=0.49pm0.01$ for the southern shell and without any indication of a spectral break. The spectra are significantly flatter than the whole Cygnus Loop spectrum ($alpha=0.54pm0.01$), suggesting a departure from the plain shock acceleration mechanisms, which for NGC 6992 could be related to the ongoing transition towards a radiative shock. We model the integrated spectrum of the whole SNR considering the evolution of the maximum energy and magnetic field amplification. Through the radio spectral parameters, we infer a magnetic field at the shock of 10 $mu$G. This value is compatible with a pure adiabatic compression of the interstellar magnetic field, suggesting that the amplification process is currently inefficient.
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We present Murchison Widefield Array observations of the supernova remnant (SNR) 1987A between 72 and 230 MHz, representing the lowest frequency observations of the source to date. This large lever arm in frequency space constrains the properties of the circumstellar medium created by the progenitor of SNR 1987A when it was in its red supergiant phase. As of late-2013, the radio spectrum of SNR 1987A between 72 MHz and 8.64 GHz does not show any deviation from a non-thermal power-law with a spectral index of $-0.74 pm 0.02$. This spectral index is consistent with that derived at higher frequencies, beneath 100 GHz, and with a shock in its adiabatic phase. A spectral turnover due to free-free absorption by the circumstellar medium has to occur below 72 MHz, which places upper limits on the optical depth of $leq$ 0.1 at a reference frequency of 72 MHz, emission measure of $lesssim$ 13,000 cm$^{-6}$ pc, and an electron density of $lesssim$ 110 cm$^{-3}$. This upper limit on the electron density is consistent with the detection of prompt radio emission and models of the X-ray emission from the supernova. The electron density upper limit implies that some hydrodynamic simulations derived a red supergiant mass loss rate that is too high, or a wind velocity that is too low. The mass loss rate of $sim 5 times 10^{-6}$ $M_{odot}$ yr$^{-1}$ and wind velocity of 10 km s$^{-1}$ obtained from optical observations are consistent with our upper limits, predicting a current turnover frequency due to free-free absorption between 5 and 60 MHz.
We report on spectra of two positions in the XA region of the Cygnus Loop supernova remnant obtained with the InfraRed Spectrograph on the Spitzer Space Telescope. The spectra span the 10-35 micron wavelength range, which contains a number of collisionally excited forbidden lines. These data are supplemented by optical spectra obtained at the Whipple Observatory and an archival UV spectrum from the International Ultraviolet Explorer. Coverage from the UV through the IR provides tests of shock wave models and tight constraints on model parameters. Only lines from high ionization species are detected in the spectrum of a filament on the edge of the remnant. The filament traces a 180 km/s shock that has just begun to cool, and the oxygen to neon abundance ratio lies in the normal range found for Galactic H II regions. Lines from both high and low ionization species are detected in the spectrum of the cusp of a shock-cloud interaction, which lies within the remnant boundary. The spectrum of the cusp region is matched by a shock of about 150 km/s that has cooled and begun to recombine. The post-shock region has a swept-up column density of about 1.3E18 cm^-2, and the gas has reached a temperature of 7000 to 8000 K. The spectrum of the Cusp indicates that roughly half of the refractory silicon and iron atoms have been liberated from the grains. Dust emission is not detected at either position.
We present 1 to 10GHz radio continuum flux density, spectral index, polarisation and Rotation Measure (RM) images of the youngest known Galactic Supernova Remnant (SNR) G1.9+0.3, using observations from the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA). We have conducted an expansion study spanning 8 epochs between 1984 and 2017, yielding results consistent with previous expansion studies of G1.9+0.3. We find a mean radio continuum expansion rate of ($0.78 pm 0.09$) per cent year$^{-1}$ (or $sim8900$ km s$^{-1}$ at an assumed distance of 8.5 kpc), although the expansion rate varies across the SNR perimeter. In the case of the most recent epoch between 2016 and 2017, we observe faster-than-expected expansion of the northern region. We find a global spectral index for G1.9+0.3 of $-0.81pm0.02$ (76 MHz$-$10 GHz). Towards the northern region, however, the radio spectrum is observed to steepen significantly ($sim -$1). Towards the two so called (east & west) ears of G1.9+0.3, we find very different RM values of 400-600 rad m$^{2}$ and 100-200 rad m$^{2}$ respectively. The fractional polarisation of the radio continuum emission reaches (19 $pm$ 2)~per~cent, consistent with other, slightly older, SNRs such as Cas~A.
In the frame of the Astronomical Validation activities for the 64m Sardinia Radio Telescope, we performed 5-22 GHz imaging observations of the complex-morphology supernova remnants (SNRs) W44 and IC443. We adopted innovative observing and mapping techniques providing unprecedented accuracy for single-dish imaging of SNRs at these frequencies, revealing morphological details typically available only at lower frequencies through interferometry observations. High-frequency studies of SNRs in the radio range are useful to better characterize the spatially-resolved spectra and the physical parameters of different regions of the SNRs interacting with the ISM. Furthermore, synchrotron-emitting electrons in the high-frequency radio band are also responsible for the observed high-energy phenomenology as -e.g.- Inverse Compton and bremsstrahlung emission components observed in gamma-rays, to be disentangled from hadron emission contribution (providing constraints on the origin of cosmic rays).
We present NuSTAR observations of the powerful radio galaxy Cygnus A, focusing on the central absorbed active galactic nucleus (AGN). Cygnus A is embedded in a cool-core galaxy cluster, and hence we also examine archival XMM-Newton data to facilitate the decomposition of the spectrum into the AGN and intracluster medium (ICM) components. NuSTAR gives a source-dominated spectrum of the AGN out to >70keV. In gross terms, the NuSTAR spectrum of the AGN has the form of a power law (Gamma~1.6-1.7) absorbed by a neutral column density of N_H~1.6x10^23 cm^-2. However, we also detect curvature in the hard (>10keV) spectrum resulting from reflection by Compton-thick matter out of our line-of-sight to the X-ray source. Compton reflection, possibly from the outer accretion disk or obscuring torus, is required even permitting a high-energy cutoff in the continuum source; the limit on the cutoff energy is E_cut>111keV (90% confidence). Interestingly, the absorbed power-law plus reflection model leaves residuals suggesting the absorption/emission from a fast (15,000-26,000km/s), high column-density (N_W>3x10^23 cm^-2), highly ionized (xi~2,500 erg cm/s) wind. A second, even faster ionized wind component is also suggested by these data. We show that the ionized wind likely carries a significant mass and momentum flux, and may carry sufficient kinetic energy to exercise feedback on the host galaxy. If confirmed, the simultaneous presence of a strong wind and powerful jets in Cygnus A demonstrates that feedback from radio-jets and sub-relativistic winds are not mutually exclusive phases of AGN activity but can occur simultaneously.
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