Zooming in on Supernova 1987A at sub-mm wavelengths

Abstract

Supernova 1987A (SN1987A) in the neighbouring Large Magellanic Cloud offers a superb opportunity to follow the evolution of a supernova and its remnant in unprecedented detail. Recently, far-infrared (far-IR) and sub-mm emission was detected from the direction of SN1987A, which was interpreted as due to the emission from dust, possibly freshly synthesized in the SN ejecta. To better constrain the location and hence origin of the far-IR and sub-mm emission in SN1987A, we have attempted to resolve the object in that part of the electro-magnetic spectrum. We observed SN1987A during July-September 2011 with the Atacama Pathfinder EXperiment (APEX), at a wavelength of 350 micron with the Submillimetre APEX Bolometer CAmera (SABOCA) and at 870 micron with the Large APEX BOlometer CAmera (LABOCA). The 350-micron image has superior angular resolution (8") over that of the Herschel Space Observatory 350-micron image (25"). The 870-micron observation (at 20" resolution) is a repetition of a similar observation made in 2007. In both images, at 350 and 870 micron, emission is detected from SN1987A, and the source is unresolved. The flux densities in the new (2011) measurements are consistent with those measured before with Herschel at 350 micron (in 2010) and with APEX at 870 micron (in 2007). A higher dust temperature (approximately 33 K) and lower dust mass might be possible than what was previously thought. The new measurements, at the highest angular resolution achieved so far at far-IR and sub-mm wavelengths, strengthen the constraints on the location of the emission, which is thought to be close to the site of SN1987A and its circumstellar ring structures. These measurements set the stage for upcoming observations at even higher angular resolution with the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA).

Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics Letters

References in corpus (6)

• The Large APEX Bolometer Camera LABOCA
• Freshly Formed Dust in the Cassiopeia A Supernova Remnant as Revealed by the Spitzer Space Telescope
• X-ray illumination of the ejecta of Supernova 1987A
• Far-Infrared to Millimeter Astrophysical Dust Emission. II: Comparison of the Two-Level Systems (TLS) model with Astronomical Data
• Properties of newly formed dust by SN2006jc based on near-to-mid infrared observation with AKARI
• Zooming in on Supernova 1987A at sub-mm wavelengths

Cited by in corpus (13)

• Dust Production and Particle Acceleration in Supernova 1987A Revealed with ALMA
• The influence of supernova remnants on the interstellar medium in the Large Magellanic Cloud seen at 20--600 $\mu$m wavelengths
• Spectral and morphological analysis of the remnant of Supernova 1987A with ALMA & ATCA
• Twelve type II-P supernovae seen with the eyes of Spitzer
• The 30-Year Search for the Compact Object in SN 1987A
• Infrared Continuum and Line Evolution of the Equatorial Ring around SN 1987A
• Formulation of Non-steady-state Dust Formation Process in Astrophysical Environments
• A 3D Simulation of a Type II-P Supernova: from Core Bounce to Beyond Shock Breakout
• The remnant of Supernova 1987A resolved at 3 mm wavelength
• Dust formation in embryonic pulsar-aided supernova remnants
• Zooming in on Supernova 1987A at sub-mm wavelengths
• Synthetic extinction maps around intermediate-mass black holes in Galactic globular clusters
• ALMA, ATCA, and Spitzer Observations of the Luminous Extragalactic Supernova SN 1978K