| 1. |
- Perez-Torres, M. A., et al.
(författare)
-
CONSTRAINTS ON THE PROGENITOR SYSTEM AND THE ENVIRONS OF SN 2014J FROM DEEP RADIO OBSERVATIONS
- 2014
-
Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 792:1, s. 38-
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report deep EVN and eMERLIN observations of the Type Ia SN 2014J in the nearby galaxy M82. Our observations represent, together with JVLA observations of SNe 2011fe and 2014J, the most sensitive radio studies of Type Ia SNe ever. By combining data and a proper modeling of the radio emission, we constrain the mass-loss rate from the progenitor system of SN 2014J to (M) over dot less than or similar to 7.0 x 10(-10) M yr(-1) (for a wind speed of 100 km s(-1)). If the medium around the supernova is uniform, then n(ISM) less than or similar to 1.3 cm(-3), which is the most stringent limit for the (uniform) density around a Type Ia SN. Our deep upper limits favor a double-degenerate (DD) scenario-involving two WD stars-for the progenitor system of SN 2014J, as such systems have less circumstellar gas than our upper limits. By contrast, most single-degenerate (SD) scenarios, i.e., the wide family of progenitor systems where a red giant, main-sequence, or sub-giant star donates mass to an exploding WD, are ruled out by our observations. (While completing our work, we noticed that a paper by Margutti et al. was submitted to The Astrophysical Journal. From a non-detection of X-ray emission from SN 2014J, the authors obtain limits of (M) over dot less than or similar to 1.2 x 10(-9) M-circle dot yr(-1) (for a wind speed of 100 km s(-1)) and n(ISM) less than or similar to 3.5 cm(-3), for the rho proportional to r(-2) wind and constant density cases, respectively. As these limits are less constraining than ours, the findings by Margutti et al. do not alter our conclusions. The X-ray results are, however, important to rule out free-free and synchrotron self-absorption as a reason for the radio non-detections.) Our estimates on the limits on the gas density surrounding SN2011fe, using the flux density limits from Chomiuk et al., agree well with their results. Although we discuss the possibilities of an SD scenario passing observational tests, as well as uncertainties in the modeling of the radio emission, the evidence from SNe 2011fe and 2014J points in the direction of a DD scenario for both.
|
|
| 2. |
- Björnsson, Claes-Ingvar, et al.
(författare)
-
HEATING FROM FREE-FREE ABSORPTION AND THE MASS-LOSS RATE OF THE PROGENITOR STARS TO SUPERNOVAE
- 2014
-
Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 787:2, s. 143-
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- An accurate determination of the mass-loss rate of the progenitor stars to core-collapse supernovae is often limited by uncertainties pertaining to various model assumptions. It is shown that under conditions when the temperature of the circumstellar medium is set by heating due to free-free absorption, observations of the accompanying free-free optical depth allow a direct determination of the mass-loss rate from observed quantities in a rather model-independent way. The temperature is determined self-consistently, which results in a characteristic time dependence of the free-free optical depth. This can be used to distinguish free-free heating from other heating mechanisms. Since the importance of free-free heating is quite model dependent, this also makes possible several consistency checks of the deduced mass-loss rate. It is argued that the free-free absorption observed in SN 1993J is consistent with heating from free-free absorption. The deduced mass-loss rate of the progenitor star is, approximately, 10(-5) M-circle dot yr(-1) for a wind velocity of 10 km s(-1).
|
|
| 3. |
- Björnsson, Claes-Ingvar
(författare)
-
INHOMOGENEITIES IN TYPE Ib/c SUPERNOVAE : AN INVERSE COMPTON SCATTERING ORIGIN OF THE X-RAY EMISSION
- 2013
-
Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 769:1, s. 65-
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Inhomogeneities in a synchrotron source can severely affect the conclusions drawn from observations regarding the source properties. However, their presence is not always easy to establish, since several other effects can give rise to similar observed characteristics. It is argued that the recently observed broadening of the radio spectra and/or light curves in some Type Ib/c supernovae is a direct indication of inhomogeneities. As compared to a homogeneous source, this increases the deduced velocity of the forward shock and the observed correlation between total energy and shock velocity could in part be due to a varying covering factor. The X-ray emission from at least some Type Ib/c supernovae is unlikely to be synchrotron radiation from an electron distribution accelerated in a nonlinear shock. Instead it is shown that the observed correlation during the first few hundred days between the radio, X-ray, and bolometric luminosities indicates that the X-ray emission is inverse Compton scattering of the photospheric photons. Inhomogeneities are consistent with equipartition between electrons and magnetic fields in the optically thin synchrotron emitting regions.
|
|
| 4. |
- Björnsson, Claes-Ingvar
(författare)
-
MULTIPLE INVERSE COMPTON SCATTERINGS AND THE BLAZAR SEQUENCE
- 2010
-
Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 723:1, s. 417-424
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The high frequency component in blazars is thought to be due to inverse Compton scattered radiation. Recent observations by Fermi-LAT are used to evaluate the details of the scattering process. A comparison is made between the usually assumed single scattering scenario and one in which multiple scatterings are energetically important. In the latter case, most of the radiation is emitted in the Klein-Nishina limit. It is argued that several of the observed correlations defining the blazar sequence are most easily understood in a multiple scattering scenario. Observations indicate also that, in such a scenario, the blazar sequence is primarily governed by the energy density of relativistic electrons rather than that of the seed photons. The pronounced X-ray minimum in the spectral energy distribution often observed in the most luminous blazars is discussed. It is shown how this feature can be accounted for in a multiple scattering scenario by an extension of standard one-zone models.
|
|
| 5. |
- Björnsson, Claes-Ingvar, et al.
(författare)
-
The location of the Crab pulsar emission region : restrictions on synchrotron emission models
- 2010
-
Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 516, s. A65-
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Recent observations of the Crab pulsar show no evidence of a spectral break in the infrared regime. It is argued that the observations are consistent with a power-law spectrum in the whole observable infrared-optical range. This is taken as the starting point for evaluating of how self-consistent incoherent synchrotron models fare in a comparison with observations. Inclusion of synchrotron self-absorption proves important as does the restriction on the observed size of the emission region imposed by the relativistic beaming thought to define the pulse profile. It is shown that the observations can be used to derive two independent constraints on the distance from the neutron star to the emission region; in addition to a direct lower limit, an indirect measure is obtained from an upper limit to the magnetic field strength. Both of these limits indicate that the emission region is located at a distance considerably greater than the light cylinder radius. The implications of this result are discussed, and it is emphasized that, for standard incoherent synchrotron models to fit inside the light cylinder, rather special physical conditions need to be invoked.
|
|
| 6. |
- Lundqvist, Natalia, 1974-, et al.
(författare)
-
Spectral evolution and polarization of variable structures in the pulsar wind nebula of PSR B0540-69.3
- 2011
-
Ingår i: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 413:1, s. 611-627
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present high spatial resolution optical imaging and polarization observations of the PSR B0540-69.3 and its highly dynamical pulsar wind nebula (PWN) performed with Hubble Space Telescope, and compare them with X-ray data obtained with the Chandra X-ray Observatory. In particular, we have studied the bright region south-west of the pulsar where a bright 'blob' is seen in 1999. In a recent paper by De Luca et al. it was argued that the 'blob' moves away from the pulsar at high speed. We show that it may instead be a result of local energy deposition around 1999, and that the emission from this then faded away rather than moved outward. Polarization data from 2007 show that the polarization properties show dramatic spatial variations at the 1999 blob position arguing for a local process. Several other positions along the pulsar-'blob' orientation show similar changes in polarization, indicating previous recent local energy depositions. In X-rays, the spectrum steepens away from the 'blob' position, faster orthogonal to the pulsar-'blob' direction than along this axis of orientation. This could indicate that the pulsar-'blob' orientation is an axis along where energy in the PWN is mainly injected, and that this is then mediated to the filaments in the PWN by shocks. We highlight this by constructing an [S ii]-to-[O iii]-ratio map, and comparing this to optical continuum and X-ray emission maps. We argue, through modelling, that the high [S ii]/[O iii] ratio is not due to time-dependent photoionization caused by possible rapid X-ray emission variations in the 'blob' region. We have also created a multiwavelength energy spectrum for the 'blob' position showing that one can, to within 2 Sigma, connect the optical and X-ray emission by a single power law. The slope of that power law (defined from ) would be alpha(nu) = 0.74 +/- 0.03, which is marginally different from the X-ray spectral slope alone with alpha(nu) = 0.65 +/- 0.03. A single power law for most of the PWN is, however, not be possible. We obtain best power-law fits for the X-ray spectrum if we include 'extra' oxygen, in addition to the oxygen column density in the interstellar gas of the Large Magellanic Cloud and the Milky Way. This oxygen is most naturally explained by the oxygen-rich ejecta of the supernova remnant. The oxygen needed likely places the progenitor mass in the 20-25 M(circle dot) range, i.e. in the upper mass range for progenitors of Type IIP supernovae.
|
|
| 7. |
- Sandin, Christer, et al.
(författare)
-
Properties of the three-dimensional structure in the central region of the supernova remnant SNR 0540−69.3
- 2013
-
Ingår i: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 432:4, s. 2854-2868
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present and discuss new visual wavelength-range observations of the inner regions of the supernova remnant SNR 0540−69.3 that is located in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). These observations provide us with more spatial and spectral information than were previously available for this object. We use these data to create a detailed three-dimensional model of the remnant, assuming linear expansion of the ejecta. With the observations and the model, we study the general three-dimensional structure of the remnant, and the influence of an active region in the remnant – a ‘blob’ – that we address in previous papers. We used the fibre-fed integral-field Visual Multi-Object Spectrograph at the Very Large Telescope of the European Southern Observatory. The observations provide us with three-dimensional data in [O iii] λ5007 and [S ii] λλ6717, 6731 at a 0.33 arcsec × 0.33 arcsec spatial sampling and a velocity resolution of about 35 km s− 1. We decomposed the two, partially overlapping, sulphur lines and used them to calculate electron densities across the remnant at a high signal-to-noise ratio. In our study, we recover results of previous studies, but we are more importantly able to obtain more detailed information than before. Our analysis reveals a structure that stretches from the position of the ‘blob’, and into the plane of the sky at a position angle of PA ≃ 60°. Assuming a remnant age of 1000 yr and the usual LMC distance, the structure has an inclination angle of about 65° to the line of sight. The position angle is close to the symmetry axis with present and past activity in the visual and the X-ray wavelength ranges. We speculate that the pulsar is positioned along this activity axis, where it has a velocity along the line of sight of a few hundred km s− 1. The ‘blob’ is most likely a region of shock activity, as it is mainly bright in [S ii]; future observations of [O ii] λλ3726, 3729 would be useful to test whether the S/O abundance ratio is higher than average for that location in the remnant. The striking resemblance in X-rays between the pulsar wind nebula (PWN) of SNR 0540−69.3 and the Crab, in combination with our findings in this paper, suggests that the symmetry axis is part of a torus in the PWN. This is in agreement with the original suggestion by Gotthelf & Wang.
|
|
