The Dust Mass of Supernova Remnants in M31

The dust temperature and mass of the supernova remnants (SNRs) in M31 are estimated by fitting the infrared spectral energy distribution calculated from the images in the Spitzer/IRAC4 and MIPS24, Herschel/PACS70, 100, and 160, and Herschel/SPIRE 250 and 350 μm bands. Twenty SNRs with relatively reliable photometry exhibit an average dust temperature of 20.1 − 1.5 + 1.8 K, which is higher than the surrounding and indicating the heating effect of supernova explosion. The dust mass of these SNRs ranges from about 100 to 800 M ⊙, much bigger than the SNRs in the Milky Way. On the other hand, this yields the dust surface density of 0.10 − 0.04 + 0.07 M ⊙ pc−2, about half of the surrounding area, which implies that about half dust in the SNRs is destroyed by the supernova explosion. The dust temperature, the radius, and thus the dust mass all demonstrate that the studied SNRs are old and very likely in the snowplow or even fade-away phase because of the limitation by the far distance and observation resolution of M31, and the results can serve as a reference to the final effect of supernova explosion on the surrounding dust.

Numerical Simulation of Compact Objects in Binary Systems Post-Supernova

We explore the post-supernova (SN) outcomes of binary systems using a rapid stellar evolution code to simulate the equivalent of a population of ∼ 106 M ⊙. Here we explore the fraction of binaries that remain intact after the SN, which can potentially be found within supernova remnants. Given the challenges that the observational studies are facing, we use numerical simulations to shed more light on the issue.

Observational Constraints on the Maximum Energies of Accelerated Particles in Supernova Remnants: Low Maximum Energies and a Large Variety

Supernova remnants (SNRs) are thought to be the most promising sources of Galactic cosmic rays. One of the principal questions is whether they are accelerating particles up to the maximum energy of Galactic cosmic rays (∼PeV). In this work, a systematic study of gamma-ray-emitting SNRs is conducted as an advanced study of Suzuki et al. Our purpose is to newly measure the evolution of maximum particle energies with increased statistics and better age estimates. We model their gamma-ray spectra to constrain the particle-acceleration parameters. Two candidates of the maximum energy of freshly accelerated particles, the gamma-ray cutoff and break energies, are found to be well below PeV. We also test a spectral model that includes both the freshly accelerated and escaping particles to estimate the maximum energies more reliably, but no tighter constraints are obtained with current statistics. The average time dependences of the cutoff energy (∝t −0.81±0.24) and break energy (∝t −0.77±0.23) cannot be explained with the simplest acceleration condition (Bohm limit) and require shock–ISM (interstellar medium) interaction. The average maximum energy during lifetime is found to be ≲20 TeV ( t M / 1 kyr ) − 0.8 with t M being the age at the maximum, which reaches PeV if t M ≲ 10 yr. The maximum energies during lifetime are suggested to have a variety of 1.1–1.8 dex from object to object. Although we cannot isolate the cause of this variety, this work provides an important clue to understanding the microphysics of particle acceleration in SNRs.

Ion Current Screening Modeling of the Ion–Weibel Instability

Ion–Weibel instability (IWI) is an important mechanism of generating a magnetic field in supernova remnants; it plays a key role in the generation of high-energy cosmic rays. Computational efficiency has been a bottleneck in numerical exploration of the large-scale evolution of IWI. Here I report a new hybrid particle-in-cell (PIC) method that can quickly simulate IWI. The method is based on a new model that describes the relation of the ion current and its magnetic field under the electron screening. The new method’s computational efficiency is nearly two orders of magnitude higher than that of the PIC method. This method is suitable for the full-scale simulation of the IWI in laser-plasma experiments and supernova remnants.

FAST continuum mapping of the SNR VRO 42.05.01

The relativistic electrons rotate in the enhanced magnetic field of the supernova remnants and emit the synchrotron radio emission.We aim to use the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST) to obtain a sensitive continuum map of the SNR VRO 42.05.01 (G166.0+4.3) at 1240 MHz. The 500 MHz bandwidth is divided into low and high-frequency bands centered at 1085 and 1383 MHz to investigate the spectral index variations within the remnant, together with the Effelsberg 2695 MHz data. We obtained an integrated flux density of 6.2±0.4 Jy at 1240 MHz for VRO 42.05.01, consistent with previous results. The spectral index found from TT-plot between 1240 and 2695 MHz agrees with previous values from 408 MHz up to 5 GHz. The three-band spectral index distribution shows a clear flatter value of α ∼ −0.33 in the shell region and steeper index of α = −0.36 − −0.54 in the wing region. The flatter spectral index in the shell region could be attributed to a second-order Fermi process in the turbulent medium in the vicinity of the shock and/or a higher compression ratio of shock and a high post-shock density than that in elsewhere.

Chapter 2 Galactic Gamma-ray Sources

In the gamma-ray sky, the highest fluxes come from Galactic sources: supernova remnants (SNRs), pulsars and pulsar wind nebulae, star forming regions, binaries and micro-quasars, giant molecular clouds, Galactic center, and the large extended area around the Galactic plane. The radiation mechanisms of -ray emission and the physics of the emitting particles, such as the origin, acceleration, and propagation, are of very high astrophysical significance. A variety of theoretical models have been suggested for the relevant physics and emission with energies E_1014 eV are expected to be crucial in testing them. In particular, this energy band is a direct window to test at which maximum energy a particle can be accelerated in the Galactic sources and whether the most probable source candidates such as Galactic center and SNRs are “PeVatrons”. Designed aiming at the very high energy (VHE, >100 GeV) observation, LHAASO will be a very powerful instrument in these astrophysical studies. Over the past decade, great advances have been made in the VHE -ray astronomy. More than 170 VHE -ray sources have been observed, and among them, 42 Galactic sources fall in the LHAASO field-of-view. With a sensitivity of 10 milli-Crab, LHAASO can not only provide accurate spectrum for the known -ray sources, but also search new TeV -ray sources. In the following sub-sections, the observation of all the Galactic sources with LHAASO will be discussed in details.

Clumps and Rings of Ejecta in SNR 0540–69.3 as Seen in 3D

The distribution of ejecta in young supernova remnants offers a powerful observational probe of their explosions and progenitors. Here we present a 3D reconstruction of the ejecta in SNR 0540-69.3, which is an O-rich remnant with a pulsar wind nebula located in the LMC. We use observations from the Very Large Telescope (VLT)/MUSE to study Hβ, [O iii] λ λ4959, 5007, Hα, [S ii] λ λ6717, 6731, [Ar iii] λ7136, and [S iii] λ9069. This is complemented by 2D spectra from VLT/X-shooter, which also cover [O ii] λ λ3726, 3729, and [Fe ii] λ12567. We identify three main emission components: (i) clumpy rings in the inner nebula (≲1000 km s−1) with similar morphologies in all lines; (ii) faint extended [O iii] emission dominated by an irregular ring-like structure with radius ∼1600 km s−1 and inclination ∼40°, but with maximal velocities reaching ∼3000 km s−1; and (iii) a blob of Hα and Hβ located southeast of the pulsar at velocities ∼1500–3500 km s−1. We analyze the geometry using a clump-finding algorithm and use the clumps in the [O iii] ring to estimate an age of 1146 ± 116 yr. The observations favor an interpretation of the [O iii] ring as ejecta, while the origin of the H-blob is more uncertain. An alternative explanation is that it is the blown-off envelope of a binary companion. From the detection of Balmer lines in the innermost ejecta we confirm that SNR 0540 was a Type II supernova and that hydrogen was mixed down to low velocities in the explosion.

What causes the absence of pulsations in Central Compact Objects in supernova remnants?

Most young neutron stars belonging to the class of Central Compact Objects (CCOs) in supernova remnants do not have known periodicities. We investigated seven such CCOs to understand the common reasons for the absence of detected pulsations. Making use of XMM-Newton, Chandra, and NICER observations, we perform a systematic timing and spectral analysis to derive updated sensitivity limits for both periodic signals and multi-temperature spectral components that could be associated with radiation from hotspots on the neutron star surface. Based on these limits, we then investigated for each target the allowed viewing geometry that could explain the lack of pulsations. We find that it is unlikely (< 10−6) to attribute that we do not see pulsations to an unfavorable viewing geometry for five considered sources. Alternatively, the carbon atmosphere model, which assumes homogeneous temperature distribution on the surface, describes the spectra equally well and provides a reasonable interpretation for the absence of detected periodicities within current limits. The unusual properties of CCOs with respect to other young neutron stars could suggest a different evolutionary path, as that proposed for sources experiencing episodes of significant fallback accretion after the supernova event.

Forbidden Line Emission from Type Ia Supernova Remnants Containing Balmer-dominated Shells

Balmer-dominated shells in supernova remnants (SNRs) are produced by collisionless shocks advancing into a partially neutral medium and are most frequently associated with Type Ia supernovae. We have analyzed Hubble Space Telescope (HST) images and Very Large Telescope (VLT)/Multi-Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) or AAT/Wide Field Integral Spectrograph observations of five Type Ia SNRs containing Balmer-dominated shells in the LMC: 0509–67.5, 0519–69.0, N103B, DEM L71, and 0548–70.4. Contrary to expectations, we find bright forbidden-line emission from small dense knots embedded in four of these SNRs. The electron densities in some knots are higher than 104 cm−3. The size and density of these knots are not characteristic for interstellar medium—they most likely originate from a circumstellar medium ejected by the SN progenitor. Physical property variations of dense knots in the SNRs appear to reflect an evolutionary effect. The recombination timescales for high densities are short, and HST images of N103B taken 3.5 yr apart already show brightness changes in some knots. VLT/MUSE observations detect [Fe xiv] line emission from reverse shocks into SN ejecta as well as forward shocks into the dense knots. Faint [O iii] line emission is also detected from the Balmer shell in 0519–69.0, N103B, and DEM L71. We exclude the postshock origin because the [O iii] line is narrow. For the preshock origin, we considered three possibilities: photoionization precursor, cosmic-ray precursor, and neutral precursor. We conclude that the [O iii] emission arises from oxygen that has been photoionized by [He ii] λ304 photons and is then collisionally excited in a shock precursor heated mainly by cosmic rays.

Mirror Diffusion of Cosmic Rays in Highly Compressible Turbulence Near Supernova Remnants

Recent gamma-ray observations have revealed inhomogeneous diffusion of cosmic rays (CRs) in the interstellar medium (ISM). This is expected, as the diffusion of CRs depends on the properties of turbulence, which can vary widely in the multiphase ISM. We focus on the mirror diffusion arising in highly compressible turbulence in molecular clouds (MCs) around supernova remnants (SNRs), where the magnetic mirroring effect results in significant suppression of diffusion of CRs near CR sources. Significant energy loss via proton–proton interactions due to slow diffusion flattens the low-energy CR spectrum, while the high-energy CR spectrum is steepened due to the strong dependence of mirror diffusion on CR energy. The resulting broken power-law spectrum of CRs matches well the gamma-ray spectrum observed from SNR/MC systems, e.g., IC443 and W44.