Gabriela Castelletti

Thermal emission, shock modification, and X-ray emitting ejecta in SN 1006

Context. Efficient particle acceleration can modify the structure of supernova remnants. We present the results of a combined analysis of the XMM-Newton EPIC archive observations of SN 1006. Aims. We attempt to describe the spatial distribution of the physical and chemical properties of the X-ray emitting plasma at the shock front. We investigate the contribution of thermal and non-thermal emission to the X-ray spectrum at the rim of the remnant to study how the acceleration processes affect the X-ray emitting plasma. Methods. We perform a spatially resolved spectral analysis of a set of regions covering the entire rim of the shell and we apply our results in producing a count-rate image of the “pure” thermal emission of SN 1006 in the 0.5−0.8 keV energy band (subtracting the non-thermal contribution). This image differs significantly from the total image in the same band, especially close to the bright limbs. Results. We find that thermal X-ray emission can be associated with the ejecta and study the azimuthal variation in the physical and chemical properties of the ejecta by identifying anisotropies in the temperature and chemical composition. By employing our thermal image, we trace the position of the contact discontinuity over the entire shell and compare it with that expected from 3D MHD models of SNRs with an unmodified shock. Conclusions. We conclude that the shock is modified everywhere in the rim and that the aspect angle between the interstellar magnetic field and the line of sight is significantly lower than 90 ◦ .

Aspect angle for interstellar magnetic field in SN 1006

A number of important processes taking place around strong shocks in supernova remnants (SNRs) depend on the shock obliquity. The measured synchrotron flux is a function of the aspect angle between interstellar magnetic field (ISMF) and the line of sight. Thus, a model of non-thermal emission from SNRs should account for the orientation of the ambient magnetic field. We develop a new method for the estimation of the aspect angle, based on the comparison between observed and synthesized radio maps of SNRs, making different assumptions about the dependence of electron injection efficiency on the shock obliquity. The method uses the azimuthal profile of radio surface brightness as a probe for orientation of ambient magnetic field because it is almost insensitive to the downstream distribution of magnetic field and emitting electrons. We apply our method to a new radio image of SN 1006 produced on the basis of archival Very Large Array and Parkes data. The image recovers emission from all spatial structures with angular scales from a few arcsec to 15 arcmin. We explore different models of injection efficiency and find the following best-fitting values for the aspect angle of SN 1006: Φ o = 70° ± 4.2° if the injection is isotropic, Φ o = 64° ± 2.8° for quasi-perpendicular injection (SNR has an equatorial belt in both cases) and Φ o = 11° ± 0.8° for quasi-parallel injection (polar-cap model of SNR). In the last case, SN 1006 is expected to have a centrally peaked morphology contrary to what is observed. Therefore, our analysis provides some indication against the quasi-parallel injection model.

The supernova remnant W44: Confirmations and challenges for cosmic-ray acceleration

The middle-aged supernova remnant (SNR) W44 has recently attracted attention because of its relevance regarding the origin of Galactic cosmic-rays. For the first time for a SNR, the gamma-ray missions AGILE and Fermi have established the spectral continuum below 200 MeV, which can be attributed to a neutral pion emission. Confirming the hadronic origin of the gamma-ray emission near 100 MeV is then of the greatest importance. Our paper is focused on a global re-assessment of all available data and models of particle acceleration in W44 with the goal of determining the hadronic and leptonic contributions to the overall spectrum on a firm ground. We also present new gamma-ray and CO NANTEN2 data on W44 and compare them to recently published AGILE and Fermi data. Our analysis strengthens previous studies and observations of the W44 complex environment and provides new information for more detailed modeling. In particular, we determine that the average gas density of the regions emitting 100 MeV‐10 GeV gammarays is relatively high (n 250‐300 cm 3 ). The hadronic interpretation of the gamma-ray spectrum of W44 is viable and supported by strong evidence. It implies a relatively large value for the average magnetic field (B 10 2 G) in the SNR surroundings,which is a sign of field amplification by shock-driven turbulence. Our new analysis establishes that the spectral index of the proton energy distribution function is p1 = 2:2 0:1 at low energies and p2 = 3:2 0:1 at high energies. We critically discuss hadronic versus leptonic-only models of emission taking radio and gamma-ray data into account simultaneously. We find that the leptonic models are disfavored by the combination of radio and gamma-ray data. Having determined the hadronic nature of the gamma-ray emission on firm ground, a number of theoretical challenges remain to be addressed.

New VLA observations of the SNR Puppis A: the radio properties and the correlation with the X-ray emission

Context. High-resolution, high-sensitivity multifrequency radio images of supernova remnants (SNRs) are essential in advancing the understanding of both the global SNR dynamics and particle acceleration mechanisms. Aims. In this paper we report on a new study of the SNR Puppis A based on VLA observations at 1425 MHz; the improvement represents a factor of two in angular resolution and almost ten times in sensitivity compared to the best previous image of Puppis A. This new image is used to compare with re-processed 327 MHz data and ROSAT and Chandra images to investigate morphological and spectral characteristics. Methods. The observations were carried out with the VLA in the DnC and CnB configurations in 2004. After combining with singledish data from Parkes, an angular resolution of 34 �� × 16 �� and an rms noise of 0.5 mJy beam −1 , were achieved. Archival VLA data at 327 MHz were also processed. The spectral index distribution was then determined by a direct comparison of the homogenized data at both 327 and 1425 MHz. In addition, to identify different spectral components, tomographic spectral analysis was performed. Results. The new 1425 MHz radio image reveals a highly structured border encircling a diffuse, featureless interior. In particular, the northern half of Puppis A displays a complex structure along the periphery, consisting of short arcs resembling “wave-like” features. These are oriented essentially perpendicular to the shock front on the NE side, but are tangential to the shock on the NW side. A remarkable correspondence between such “wave-like” features and spectral changes is observed. On the other hand, the brightest radio features (located to the E of the SNR and also detected in X-rays) have no counterpart in the spectral index distribution. Based on a uniform compilation of integrated flux densities between 19 and 8400 MHz, a global spectral index α = −0.52± 0.03 (S ∝ ν α )h as been determined. The new 1425 MHz image of Puppis A was compared with the ROSAT X-ray image of the entire SNR and with the resolved arcsec Chandra image of the bright E region. There is good overall agreement between the radio and high resolution X-ray images. At the arcsec level, however, the agreement of the radio and X-ray images is less striking. A noticeable similarity is found between Puppis A, with its E and W extensions, and analogous morphological features observed in the SNR W50. This suggests that Puppis A could be another case of a SNR shaped by the action of energetic jets.

Predicted γ‐ray image of SN 1006 due to inverse Compton emission

We propose a method to synthesize the inverse Compton (IC) gamma-ray image of a supernova remnant starting from the radio (or hard X-ray) map and using results of the spatially resolved X-ray spectral analysis. The method is successfully applied to SN 1006. We found that synthesized IC gamma-ray images of SN 1006 show morphology in nice agreement with that reported by the H.E.S.S. collaboration. The good correlation found between the observed very-high energy gamma-ray and X-ray/radio appearance can be considered as an evidence that the gamma-ray emission of SN 1006 observed by H.E.S.S. is leptonic in origin, though the hadronic origin may not be excluded.

Feature-tailored spectroscopic analysis of the supernova remnant Puppis A in X-rays

We introduce a distinct method to perform spatially-resolved spectral analysis of astronomical sources with highly structured X-ray emission. The method measures the surface brightness of neighbouring pixels to adaptively size and shape each region, thus the spectra from the bright and faint filamentary structures evident in the broadband images can be extracted. As a test case, we present the spectral analysis of the complete X-ray emitting plasma in the supernova remnant Puppis A observed with XMM-Newton and Chandra. Given the angular size of Puppis A, many pointings with different observational configurations have to be combined, presenting a challenge to any method of spatially-resolved spectroscopy. From the fit of a plane-parallel shocked plasma model we find that temperature, absorption column, ionization time scale, emission measure and elemental abundances of O, Ne, Mg, Si, S and Fe, are smoothly distributed in the remnant. Some regions with overabundances of O-Ne-Mg, previously characterized as ejecta material, were automatically selected by our method, proving the excellent response of the technique. This method is an advantageous tool for the exploitation of archival X-ray data.

Radio and X-ray properties of the source G29.37+0.1 linked to HESS J1844−030

Fil: Castelletti, Gabriela 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