Wind of a young massive star colliding with a supernova remnant shell

The fast stellar winds of massive stars, along with supernovae, determine the dynamics within the star-forming regions. Within a compact star cluster, counterpropagating supersonic MHD shock flows associated with winds and supernova remnants can provide favorable conditions for efficient Fermi I particle acceleration up to energies > 10 PeV over a short timescale of several hundred years. To model the nonthermal spectra of such systems it is necessary to know the complex structure of colliding supersonic flows. In this paper using the PLUTO code we study on a subparsec scale a 2D MHD model of the collision of a core-collapse supernova remnant with a magnetized wind of a hot rotating O-star. As a result the detailed high resolution (~ 10−4 pc) maps of density, magnetic field, and temperature during the the wind - supernova shell interaction are presented.

Deciphering the nature of the pulsar wind nebula CTB 87 with XMM–Newton

ABSTRACT CTB 87 (G74.9+1.2) is an evolved supernova remnant (SNR) which hosts a peculiar pulsar wind nebula (PWN). The X-ray peak is offset from that observed in radio and lies towards the edge of the radio nebula. The putative pulsar, CXOU J201609.2+371110, was first resolved with Chandra and is surrounded by a compact and a more extended X-ray nebula. Here, we use a deep XMM–Newton observation to examine the morphology and evolutionary stage of the PWN and to search for thermal emission expected from a supernova shell or reverse shock interaction with supernova ejecta. We do not find evidence of thermal X-ray emission from the SNR and place an upper limit on the electron density of 0.05 cm−3 for a plasma temperature kT ∼ 0.8 keV. The morphology and spectral properties are consistent with a ∼20-kyr-old relic PWN expanding into a stellar wind-blown bubble. We also present the first X-ray spectral index map from the PWN and show that we can reproduce its morphology by means of 2D axisymmetric relativistic hydrodynamical simulations.

The formation of solar-system analogs in young star clusters

The solar system was once rich in the short-lived radionuclide (SLR) 26Al but poor in 60Fe. Several models have been proposed to explain these anomalous abundances in SLRs, but none has been set within a self-consistent framework of the evolution of the solar system and its birth environment. The anomalous abundance in 26Al may have originated from the accreted material in the wind of a massive ≳20 M⊙ Wolf-Rayet star, but the star could also have been a member of the parental star-cluster instead of an interloper or an older generation that enriched the proto-solar nebula. The protoplanetary disk at that time was already truncated around the Kuiper-cliff (at 45 au) by encounters with other cluster members before it was enriched by the wind of the nearby Wolf-Rayet star. The supernova explosion of a nearby star, possibly but not necessarily the exploding Wolf-Rayet star, heated the disk to ≳1500 K, melting small dust grains and causing the encapsulation and preservation of 26Al in vitreous droplets. This supernova, and possibly several others, caused a further abrasion of the disk and led to its observed tilt of 5.6 ± 1.2° with respect to the equatorial plane of the Sun. The abundance of 60Fe originates from a supernova shell, but its preservation results from a subsequent supernova. At least two supernovae are needed (one to deliver 60Fe and one to preserve it in the disk) to explain the observed characteristics of the solar system. The most probable birth cluster therefore has N = 2500 ± 300 stars and a radius of rvir = 0.75 ± 0.25 pc. We conclude that systems equivalent to our solar system form in the Milky Way Galaxy at a rate of about 30 Myr−1, in which case approximately 36 000 solar-system analogs roam the Milky Way.

The Search for Supernova-Produced Radionuclides in Terrestrial Deep-Sea Archives

An enhanced concentration of 60Fe was found in a deep ocean crust in 2004 in a layer corresponding to an age of ∼2 Myr. The confirmation of this signal in terrestrial archives as supernova-induced and the detection of other supernova-produced radionuclides is of great interest. We have identified two suitable marine sediment cores from the South Australian Basin and estimated the intensity of a possible signal of the supernova-produced radionuclides 26Al, 53Mn, 60Fe, and the pure r-process element 244Pu in these cores. The finding of these radionuclides in a sediment core might allow us to improve the time resolution of the signal and thus to link the signal to a supernova event in the solar vicinity ∼2 Myr ago. Furthermore, it gives us an insight into nucleosynthesis scenarios in massive stars, condensation into dust grains and transport mechanisms from the supernova shell into the solar system.