Grain Destruction in a Supernova Remnant Shock Wave

Abstract

Dust grains are sputtered away in the hot gas behind shock fronts in supernova remnants, gradually enriching the gas phase with refractory elements. We have measured emission in C IV $\lambda$1550 from C atoms sputtered from dust in the gas behind a non-radiative shock wave in the northern Cygnus Loop. Overall, the intensity observed behind the shock agrees approximately with predictions from model calculations that match the Spitzer 24 micron and the X-ray intensity profiles. Thus these observations confirm the overall picture of dust destruction in SNR shocks and the sputtering rates used in models. However, there is a discrepancy in that the CIV intensity 10" behind the shock is too high compared to the intensities at the shock and 25" behind it. Variations in the density, hydrogen neutral fraction and the dust properties over parsec scales in the pre-shock medium limit our ability to test dust destruction models in detail.

34 pages, 11 figures

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• Exploring the Dust Content of Galactic Winds with Herschel. I. NGC 4631
• Carbon, Helium and Proton Kinetic Temperatures in a Cygnus Loop Shock Wave
• The mass-loss rates of red supergiants at low metallicity: Detection of rotational CO emission from two red supergiants in the Large Magellanic Cloud
• Type Ia Supernovae and their Environment: Theory and Applications to SN 2014J
• Spitzer IRS Observations of the XA Region in the Cygnus Loop Supernova Remnant
• Dust destruction in non-radiative shocks
• Dust cloud evolution in sub-stellar atmospheres via plasma deposition and plasma sputtering