High-resolution Radio Study of Pulsar Wind Nebula MSH 15-52 and Supernova Remnant RCW 89

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Zhang, S., Ng, C. -Y., Bucciantini, N.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Zhang, S.
Ng, C. -Y.
Bucciantini, N.
author_facet Zhang, S.
Ng, C. -Y.
Bucciantini, N.
contents We present high-resolution radio observations of the pulsar wind nebula (PWN) MSH15-52, which is renowned for its distinctive hand-like shape, and its associated supernova remnant RCW 89. Using the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA), we obtained 3 and 6,cm radio maps with a resolution of 2 arcsec. These unveil small-scale radio features in the system and allow a direct comparison with the arcsecond-resolution X-ray images. We find that the radio emission is composed of a complex filamentary structure. In particular, there is a bar-like feature across the central pulsar B1509-58 in the inner PWN, and the radio sheath wrapping around the pulsar also appears to be made up of filaments. Some prominent X-ray features are not detected in radio, including the one-sided jet in the south and the finger-like structures in the north. These indicates turn over of the particle distribution at low energies in these regions. For RCW 89, the radio emission well coincides with both the X-ray knots and the Hα filaments. The high polarization fraction shows that the emission is synchrotron in nature, but it extends well beyond the sharp boundary of the non-thermal X-ray emission, which is difficult to explain.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2508_14476
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle High-resolution Radio Study of Pulsar Wind Nebula MSH 15-52 and Supernova Remnant RCW 89
Zhang, S.
Ng, C. -Y.
Bucciantini, N.
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
We present high-resolution radio observations of the pulsar wind nebula (PWN) MSH15-52, which is renowned for its distinctive hand-like shape, and its associated supernova remnant RCW 89. Using the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA), we obtained 3 and 6,cm radio maps with a resolution of 2 arcsec. These unveil small-scale radio features in the system and allow a direct comparison with the arcsecond-resolution X-ray images. We find that the radio emission is composed of a complex filamentary structure. In particular, there is a bar-like feature across the central pulsar B1509-58 in the inner PWN, and the radio sheath wrapping around the pulsar also appears to be made up of filaments. Some prominent X-ray features are not detected in radio, including the one-sided jet in the south and the finger-like structures in the north. These indicates turn over of the particle distribution at low energies in these regions. For RCW 89, the radio emission well coincides with both the X-ray knots and the Hα filaments. The high polarization fraction shows that the emission is synchrotron in nature, but it extends well beyond the sharp boundary of the non-thermal X-ray emission, which is difficult to explain.
title High-resolution Radio Study of Pulsar Wind Nebula MSH 15-52 and Supernova Remnant RCW 89
topic High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.14476