Hubble Space Telescope images of SN 1987A: Evolution of the ejecta and the equatorial ring from 2009 to 2022

Fuente: arXiv
Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Rosu, Sophie, Larsson, Josefin, Fransson, Claes, Challis, Peter, Kangas, Tuomas, Kirshner, Robert P., Lawrence, Stephen S., Lundqvist, Peter, Matsuura, Mikako, Sollerman, Jesper, Sonneborn, George, Tenhu, Linda
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
Subjects:
Online Access:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866910377775726592
author Rosu, Sophie
Larsson, Josefin
Fransson, Claes
Challis, Peter
Kangas, Tuomas
Kirshner, Robert P.
Lawrence, Stephen S.
Lundqvist, Peter
Matsuura, Mikako
Sollerman, Jesper
Sonneborn, George
Tenhu, Linda
author_facet Rosu, Sophie
Larsson, Josefin
Fransson, Claes
Challis, Peter
Kangas, Tuomas
Kirshner, Robert P.
Lawrence, Stephen S.
Lundqvist, Peter
Matsuura, Mikako
Sollerman, Jesper
Sonneborn, George
Tenhu, Linda
contents Supernova (SN) 1987A offers a unique opportunity to study how a spatially resolved SN evolves into a young supernova remnant (SNR). We present and analyze Hubble Space Telescope (HST) imaging observations of SN 1987A obtained in 2022 and compare them with HST observations from 2009 to 2021. These observations allow us to follow the evolution of the equatorial ring (ER), the rapidly expanding ejecta, and emission from the center over a wide range in wavelength from 2000 to 11 000 AA. The ER has continued to fade since it reached its maximum ~8200 days after the explosion. In contrast, the ejecta brightened until day ~11000 before their emission levelled off; the west side brightened more than the east side, which we attribute to the stronger X-ray emission by the ER on that side. The asymmetric ejecta expand homologously in all filters, which are dominated by various emission lines from hydrogen, calcium, and iron. From this overall similarity, we infer the ejecta are chemically well-mixed on large scales. The exception is the diffuse morphology observed in the UV filters dominated by emission from the Mg II resonance lines that get scattered before escaping. The 2022 observations do not show any sign of the compact object that was inferred from highly-ionized emission near the remnant's center observed with JWST. We determine an upper limit on the flux from a compact central source in the [O III] HST image. The non-detection of this line indicates that the S and Ar lines observed with JWST originate from the O free inner Si - S - Ar rich zone and/or that the observed [O III] flux is strongly affected by dust scattering.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2403_14361
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Hubble Space Telescope images of SN 1987A: Evolution of the ejecta and the equatorial ring from 2009 to 2022
Rosu, Sophie
Larsson, Josefin
Fransson, Claes
Challis, Peter
Kangas, Tuomas
Kirshner, Robert P.
Lawrence, Stephen S.
Lundqvist, Peter
Matsuura, Mikako
Sollerman, Jesper
Sonneborn, George
Tenhu, Linda
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
Supernova (SN) 1987A offers a unique opportunity to study how a spatially resolved SN evolves into a young supernova remnant (SNR). We present and analyze Hubble Space Telescope (HST) imaging observations of SN 1987A obtained in 2022 and compare them with HST observations from 2009 to 2021. These observations allow us to follow the evolution of the equatorial ring (ER), the rapidly expanding ejecta, and emission from the center over a wide range in wavelength from 2000 to 11 000 AA. The ER has continued to fade since it reached its maximum ~8200 days after the explosion. In contrast, the ejecta brightened until day ~11000 before their emission levelled off; the west side brightened more than the east side, which we attribute to the stronger X-ray emission by the ER on that side. The asymmetric ejecta expand homologously in all filters, which are dominated by various emission lines from hydrogen, calcium, and iron. From this overall similarity, we infer the ejecta are chemically well-mixed on large scales. The exception is the diffuse morphology observed in the UV filters dominated by emission from the Mg II resonance lines that get scattered before escaping. The 2022 observations do not show any sign of the compact object that was inferred from highly-ionized emission near the remnant's center observed with JWST. We determine an upper limit on the flux from a compact central source in the [O III] HST image. The non-detection of this line indicates that the S and Ar lines observed with JWST originate from the O free inner Si - S - Ar rich zone and/or that the observed [O III] flux is strongly affected by dust scattering.
title Hubble Space Telescope images of SN 1987A: Evolution of the ejecta and the equatorial ring from 2009 to 2022
topic High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2403.14361