Intertwined birth and death: a Herbig-Haro outflow resolves the distance to Vela Junior
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arXiv
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2025
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| author | Suherli, Janette Seitenzahl, Ivo R. Safi-Harb, Samar Vogt, Frédéric P. A. Ho, Wynn C. G. Ghavamian, Parviz Li, Chuan-Jui Ruiter, Ashley J. Crocker, Roland M. Roy, Arpita Sutherland, Ralph |
| author_facet | Suherli, Janette Seitenzahl, Ivo R. Safi-Harb, Samar Vogt, Frédéric P. A. Ho, Wynn C. G. Ghavamian, Parviz Li, Chuan-Jui Ruiter, Ashley J. Crocker, Roland M. Roy, Arpita Sutherland, Ralph |
| contents | The distance to the Vela Junior supernova remnant (RX J0852.0-4622 or G266.2-1.2) has long remained uncertain, limiting our understanding of its physical properties. Using VLT/MUSE integral field spectroscopy, we uncover chemical and kinematic connections between the nebula surrounding its Central Compact Object (CXOU J085201.4-461753) and the nearby Herbig-Haro outflow of Ve 7-27 (Wray 16-30), indicating a shared nitrogen-rich, Fe-peak-enhanced environment. This link ties stellar birth and death, with the young star Ve 7-27 embedded in material expelled by Vela Junior's massive progenitor, and the remnant's blast wave is expanding through the same medium. Adopting the Gaia-based distance to Ve 7-27, we revise Vela Junior's distance to $1.41\pm0.14$ kpc. At this distance, the remnant's physical radius is $23.3\pm2.3$ pc, and X-ray proper motions of the northwestern rim correspond to shock speeds of $(2.8\pm0.7)\times10^3$ to $(5.6\pm1.5)\times10^3$ km s$^{-1}$. These imply an age of $\sim$1.6-3.3 kyr and a very low ambient density, indicating that Vela Junior is expanding within a highly rarefied wind-blown cavity carved by a massive progenitor -- consistent with the non-detection of strong thermal X-ray emission. This distance update also resolves long-standing inconsistencies, with major implications for its energy budget, particle acceleration efficiency, and compact object evolution. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2512_04956 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Intertwined birth and death: a Herbig-Haro outflow resolves the distance to Vela Junior Suherli, Janette Seitenzahl, Ivo R. Safi-Harb, Samar Vogt, Frédéric P. A. Ho, Wynn C. G. Ghavamian, Parviz Li, Chuan-Jui Ruiter, Ashley J. Crocker, Roland M. Roy, Arpita Sutherland, Ralph High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena Solar and Stellar Astrophysics The distance to the Vela Junior supernova remnant (RX J0852.0-4622 or G266.2-1.2) has long remained uncertain, limiting our understanding of its physical properties. Using VLT/MUSE integral field spectroscopy, we uncover chemical and kinematic connections between the nebula surrounding its Central Compact Object (CXOU J085201.4-461753) and the nearby Herbig-Haro outflow of Ve 7-27 (Wray 16-30), indicating a shared nitrogen-rich, Fe-peak-enhanced environment. This link ties stellar birth and death, with the young star Ve 7-27 embedded in material expelled by Vela Junior's massive progenitor, and the remnant's blast wave is expanding through the same medium. Adopting the Gaia-based distance to Ve 7-27, we revise Vela Junior's distance to $1.41\pm0.14$ kpc. At this distance, the remnant's physical radius is $23.3\pm2.3$ pc, and X-ray proper motions of the northwestern rim correspond to shock speeds of $(2.8\pm0.7)\times10^3$ to $(5.6\pm1.5)\times10^3$ km s$^{-1}$. These imply an age of $\sim$1.6-3.3 kyr and a very low ambient density, indicating that Vela Junior is expanding within a highly rarefied wind-blown cavity carved by a massive progenitor -- consistent with the non-detection of strong thermal X-ray emission. This distance update also resolves long-standing inconsistencies, with major implications for its energy budget, particle acceleration efficiency, and compact object evolution. |
| title | Intertwined birth and death: a Herbig-Haro outflow resolves the distance to Vela Junior |
| topic | High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena Solar and Stellar Astrophysics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.04956 |