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Post Info TOPIC: RCW 86
Blobrana


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Title: The many sides of RCW 86: a type Ia supernova remnant evolving in its progenitor's wind bubble
Author: Sjors Broersen, Alexandros Chiotellis, Jacco Vink, Aya Bamba

We present the results of a detailed investigation of the Galactic supernova remnant RCW 86 using the XMM-Newton X-ray telescope. RCW 86 is the probable remnant of SN 185 A.D, a supernova that likely exploded inside a wind-blown cavity. We use the XMM-Newton Reflection Grating Spectrometer (RGS) to derive precise temperatures and ionisation ages of the plasma, which are an indication of the interaction history of the remnant with the presumed cavity. We find that the spectra are well fitted by two non-equilibrium ionisation models, which enables us to constrain the properties of the ejecta and interstellar matter plasma. Furthermore, we performed a principal component analysis on EPIC MOS and pn data to find regions with particular spectral properties. We present evidence that the shocked ejecta, emitting Fe-K and Si line emission, are confined to a shell of approximately 2 pc width with an oblate spheroidal morphology. Using detailed hydrodynamical simulations, we show that general dynamical and emission properties at different portions of the remnant can be well-reproduced by a type Ia supernova that exploded in a non-spherically symmetric wind-blown cavity. We also show that this cavity can be created using general wind properties for a single degenerate system. Our data and simulations provide further evidence that RCW 86 is indeed the remnant of SN 185, and is the likely result of a type Ia explosion of single degenerate origin.

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Blobrana


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Title: Proper Motions of H-alpha filaments in the Supernova Remnant RCW 86
Authors: E.A. Helder (1), J. Vink (2), A. Bamba (3), J.A.M. Bleeker (4), D.N. Burrows (1), P. Ghavamian (5), R. Yamazaki (3) ((1) Penn State University, USA (2) University of Amsterdam, Netherlands (3) Aoyama Gakuin University, Japan (4) SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research, Utrecht, The Netherlands (5) Towson University, Towson, USA)

We present a proper motion study of the eastern shock-region of the supernova remnant RCW 86 (MSH 14-63, G315.4-2.3), based on optical observations carried out with VLT/FORS2 in 2007 and 2010. For both the northeastern and southeastern regions, we measure an average proper motion of H-alpha filaments of 0.10 ± 0.02 arcsec/yr, corresponding to 1200 ± 200 km/s at 2.5kpc. There is substantial variation in the derived proper motions, indicating shock velocities ranging from just below 700 km/s to above 2200 km/s.
The optical proper motion is lower than the previously measured X-ray proper motion of northeastern region. The new measurements are consistent with the previously measured proton temperature of 2.3 ± 0.3 keV, assuming no cosmic-ray acceleration. However, within the uncertainties, moderately efficient (< 27 per cent) shock acceleration is still possible. The combination of optical proper motion and proton temperature rule out the possibility that RCW 86 has a distance less than 1.5kpc.
The similarity of the proper motions in the northeast and southeast is peculiar, given the different densities and X-ray emission properties of the regions. The northeastern region has lower densities and the X-ray emission is synchrotron dominated, suggesting that the shock velocities should be higher than in the southeastern, thermal X-ray dominated, region. A possible solution is that the H-alpha emitting filaments are biased toward denser regions, with lower shock velocities. Alternatively, in the northeast the shock velocity may have decreased rapidly during the past 200yr, and the X-ray synchrotron emission is an afterglow from a period when the shock velocity was higher.

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Blobrana


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Title: Constraints on cosmic-ray efficiency in the supernova remnant RCW 86 using multi-wavelength observations
Authors: M. Lemoine-Goumard, M. Renaud, J. Vink, G. E. Allen, A. Bamba, F. Giordano, Y. Uchiyama

Several young supernova remnants (SNRs) have recently been detected in the high-energy and very-high-energy gamma-ray domains. As exemplified by RX J1713.7-3946, the nature of this emission has been hotly debated, and direct evidence for the efficient acceleration of cosmic-ray protons at the SNR shocks still remains elusive. We analysed more than 40 months of data acquired by the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on-board the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope in the HE domain, and gathered all of the relevant multi-wavelength (from radio to VHE gamma-rays) information about the broadband nonthermal emission from RCW 86. For this purpose, we re-analysed the archival X-ray data from the ASCA/Gas Imaging Spectrometer (GIS), the XMM-Newton/EPIC-MOS, and the RXTE/Proportional Counter Array (PCA). Beyond the expected Galactic diffuse background, no significant gamma-ray emission in the direction of RCW 86 is detected in any of the 0.1-1, 1-10 and 10-100 GeV Fermi-LAT maps. In the hadronic scenario, the derived HE upper limits together with the HESS measurements in the VHE domain can only be accommodated by a spectral index Gamma <= 1.8, i.e. a value in-between the standard (test-particle) index and the asymptotic limit of theoretical particle spectra in the case of strongly modified shocks. The interpretation of the gamma-ray emission by inverse Compton scattering of high energy electrons reproduces the multi-wavelength data using a reasonable value for the average magnetic field of 15-25 muG. For these two scenarios, we assessed the level of acceleration efficiency. We discuss these results in the light of existing estimates of the magnetic field strength, the effective density and the acceleration efficiency in RCW 86.

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NASA reveals the oldest supernova


Scientists have released footage of the oldest supernova, which was captured from four separate telescopes. Report by Louise Hulland.



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Blobrana


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Supernova Remnant RCW 86
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Title: Suzaku View of the Supernova Remnant RCW 86: X-Ray Studies of Newly-Discovered Fe-Rich Ejecta
Authors: Hiroya Yamaguchi, Katsuji Koyama, Hiroyuki Uchida

We report on results of imaging and spectral analysis of the supernova remnant (SNR) RCW 86 observed with Suzaku. The SNR is known to exhibit K-shell emission of low ionised Fe, possibly originating from supernova ejecta. We revealed the global distribution of the Fe-rich plasma in the entire remnant, for the first time; the Fe-K emission was clearly detected from the west, north, and south regions, in addition to the X-ray brighter shells of southwest and northeast, where the presence of the Fe-rich ejecta has already been reported. The spectrum of each region is well represented by a three-component model consisting of low- and high-temperature thermal plasmas and a non-thermal emission. The lower-temperature component, with elemental abundances of near the solar values, likely originates from the forward shocked interstellar medium, while the Fe-rich ejecta is described by the hotter plasma. From the morphologies of the forward and reverse shocks in the west region, the total ejecta mass is estimated to be 1-2M_sun for the typical explosion energy of ~ 1 x 10^{51} erg. The integrated flux of the Fe-K emission from the entire SNR roughly corresponds to a total Fe mass of about 1M_sun. Both of these estimates suggest a Type Ia supernova origin of this SNR. We also find possible evidence of an Fe-rich clump located beyond the forward-shock front in the north rim, which is reminiscent of ejecta knots observed in the Tycho and Vela SNRs.

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Blobrana


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Ancient supernova mystery solved

A mystery surrounding the first recorded supernova - seen by Chinese astronomers in 185AD - has been solved.
The supernova RCW 86 lit up the sky for eight months, documented at the time as a "guest star".
In more recent times, astronomers have wondered how it grew so large, so fast.
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Blobrana


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SN 185
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SN 185 was a supernova which appeared in the year 185 AD, near the direction of Alpha Centauri, between the constellations Circinus and Centaurus, centred at RA 14h 43m Dec -62° 30', in Circinus. This "guest star" was observed by Chinese astronomers in the Book of Later Han, and may have been recorded in Roman literature. It remained visible in the night sky for eight months. This is believed to have been the first supernova recorded by humankind.
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Blobrana


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NASA Telescopes Help Solve Ancient Supernova Mystery

A mystery that began nearly 2,000 years ago, when Chinese astronomers witnessed what would turn out to be an exploding star in the sky, has been solved.Read more 



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NASA Telescopes Help Solve Ancient Supernova Mystery

A mystery that began nearly 2,000 years ago, when Chinese astronomers witnessed what would turn out to be an exploding star in the sky, has been solved. New infrared observations from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, reveal how the first supernova ever recorded occurred and how its shattered remains ultimately spread out to great distances.
The findings show that the stellar explosion took place in a hollowed-out cavity, allowing material expelled by the star to travel much faster and farther than it would have otherwise.
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Title: RCW 86: A Type Ia Supernova in a Wind-Blown Bubble
Authors: Brian J. Williams, William P. Blair, John M. Blondin, Kazimierz J. Borkowski, Parviz Ghavamian, Knox S. Long, John C. Raymond, Stephen P. Reynolds, Jeonghee Rho, P. Frank Winkler

We report results from a multi-wavelength analysis of the Galactic SNR RCW 86, the proposed remnant of the supernova of 185 A.D. We report new infrared observations from Spitzer and WISE, where the entire shell is detected at 24 and 22 \mu m. We fit the infrared flux ratios with models of collisionally heated ambient dust, finding post-shock gas densities in the non-radiative shocks of 2.4 and 2.0 cm^{-3} in the SW and NW portions of the remnant, respectively. The Balmer-dominated shocks around the periphery of the shell, large amount of iron in the X-ray emitting ejecta, and lack of a compact remnant support a Type Ia origin for this remnant. From hydrodynamic simulations, the observed characteristics of RCW 86 are successfully reproduced by an off-center explosion in a low-density cavity carved by the progenitor system. This would make RCW 86 the first known case of a Type Ia supernova in a wind-blown bubble. The fast shocks (> 3000 km s^{-1}) observed in the NE are propagating in the low-density bubble, where the shock is just beginning to encounter the shell, while the slower shocks elsewhere have already encountered the bubble wall. The diffuse nature of the synchrotron emission in the SW and NW is due to electrons that were accelerated early in the lifetime of the remnant, when the shock was still in the bubble. Electrons in a bubble could produce gamma-rays by inverse-Compton scattering. The wind-blown bubble scenario requires a single-degenerate progenitor, which should leave behind a companion star.

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