X-ray illumination of the ejecta of Supernova 1987A

Abstract

We present the late-time optical light curve of the ejecta of SN 1987A measured from HST imaging observations spanning the past 17 years. We find that the flux from the ejecta declined up to around year 2001, powered by the radioactive decay of 44Ti. Then the flux started to increase, more than doubling by the end of 2009. We show that the increase is the result of energy deposited by X-rays produced in the interaction with the circumstellar medium. We suggest that the change of the dominant energy input to the ejecta, from internal to external, marks the transition from supernova to supernova remnant. The details of the observations and the modelling are described in the accompanying supplementary information.

To appear in Nature on 23 June 2011 (already available online). 39 pages with 10 figures

References in corpus (3)

• The Triple-Ring Nebula around SN1987A: Fingerprint of a binary merger
• Time evolution of the line emission from the inner circumstellar ring of SN 1987A and its hot spots
• Evolution of the Reverse Shock Emission from SNR 1987A

Cited by in corpus (24)

• Pulsational Pair-Instability Supernovae
• Hard X-ray emission lines from the decay of Ti-44 in the remnant of supernova 1987A
• Gamma-ray novae as probes of relativistic particle acceleration at non-relativistic shocks
• High angular resolution ALMA images of dust and molecules in the SN 1987A ejecta
• Rayleigh-Taylor instability in Magnetohydrodynamic Simulations of the Crab Nebula
• The light curve of SN 1987A revisited: constraining production masses of radioactive nuclides
• The fully developed remnant of a neutrino-driven supernova: Evolution of ejecta structure and asymmetries in SNR Cassiopeia A
• The Destruction of the Circumstellar Ring of SN 1987A
• Three-dimensional distribution of ejecta in Supernova 1987A at 10 000 days
• Spectral and morphological analysis of the remnant of Supernova 1987A with ALMA & ATCA
• Very Deep Inside the SN 1987A Core Ejecta: Molecular Structures Seen in 3D
• High-resolution radio observations of SNR 1987A at high frequencies
• Statistical Methods for Thermonuclear Reaction Rates and Nucleosynthesis Simulations
• The matter beyond the ring: the recent evolution of SN 1987A observed by the Hubble Space Telescope
• JWST NIRSpec observations of Supernova 1987A -- from the inner ejecta to the reverse shock
• Cosmic nucleosynthesis: a multi-messenger challenge
• A 3D Simulation of a Type II-P Supernova: from Core Bounce to Beyond Shock Breakout
• A 3D view of molecular hydrogen in Supernova 1987A
• Mapping High-velocity H-alpha and Lyman-alpha Emission from Supernova 1987A
• The morphology of the ejecta of SN 1987A at 31 years from 1150 to 10000 Å
• Tracing the ejecta structure of SN 1987A: Insights and diagnostics from 3D MHD simulations
• Radiative-transfer models for dusty Type II supernovae
• Synthesis of radioactive elements in novae and supernovae and their use as a diagnostic tool
• The position of SN 1987A