Estela Marta Reynoso

EVIDENCE FOR PARTICLE ACCELERATION TO THE KNEE OF THE COSMIC RAY SPECTRUM IN TYCHO'S SUPERNOVA REMNANT

Supernova remnants (SNRs) have long been assumed to be the source of cosmic rays (CRs) up to the knee of the CR spectrum at 1015 eV, accelerating particles to relativistic energies in their blast waves by the process of diffusive shock acceleration (DSA). Since CR nuclei do not radiate efficiently, their presence must be inferred indirectly. Previous theoretical calculations and X-ray observations show that CR acceleration significantly modifies the structure of the SNR and greatly amplifies the interstellar magnetic field. We present new, deep X-ray observations of the remnant of Tychos supernova (SN 1572, henceforth Tycho), which reveal a previously unknown, strikingly ordered pattern of non-thermal high-emissivity stripes in the projected interior of the remnant, with spacing that corresponds to the gyroradii of 1014-1015 eV protons. Spectroscopy of the stripes shows the plasma to be highly turbulent on the (smaller) scale of the Larmor radii of TeV energy electrons. Models of the shock amplification of magnetic fields produce structure on the scale of the gyroradius of the highest energy CRs present, but they do not predict the highly ordered pattern we observe. We interpret the stripes as evidence for acceleration of particles to near the knee of the CR spectrum in regions of enhanced magnetic turbulence, while the observed highly ordered pattern of these features provides a new challenge to models of DSA.

An MHD study of SN 1006 and determination of the ambient magnetic field direction

In this work, we employ a magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) numerical code to reproduce the morphology observed for SN 1006 in radio synchrotron and thermal X-ray emission. We introduce a density discontinuity, in the form of a flat cloud parallel to the Galactic plane, in order to explain the NW filament observed in optical wavelengths and in thermal X-rays. We compare our models with observations. We also perform a test that contrasts the radio emitting bright limbs of the supernova remnant against the central region, finding additional support to our results. Our main conclusion is that the most probable direction of the ambient magnetic field is on average perpendicular to the Galactic plane.

3D MHD simulation of polarized emission in SN 1006

We use three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulations to model the supernova remnant SN 1006. From our numerical results, we have carried out a polarization study, obtaining synthetic maps of the polarized intensity, the Stokes parameter Q, and the polar-referenced angle, which can be compared with observational results. Synthetic maps were computed considering two possible particle acceleration mechanisms: quasi-parallel and quasi-perpendicular. The comparison of synthetic maps of the Stokes parameter Q maps with observations proves to be a valuable tool to discern unambiguously which mechanism is taking place in the remnant of SN 1006, giving strong support to the quasi-parallel model.

A multi-wavelength analysis of the diffuse H ii region G25.8700+0.1350

Fil: Cichowolski, Silvina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Oficina de Coordinacion Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Astronomia y Fisica del Espacio. - Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Astronomia y Fisica del Espacio; Argentina

New perspectives on the supernova remnant Puppis A based on a radio polarization study

Fil: Reynoso, Estela Marta. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Oficina de Coordinacion Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Astronomia y Fisica del Espacio. - Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Astronomia y Fisica del Espacio; Argentina