Discovery of molecular hydrogen in SN 1987A

Abstract

Both CO and SiO have been observed at early and late phases in SN 1987A. H_2 was predicted to form at roughly the same time as these molecules, but was not detected at early epochs. Here we report the detection of NIR lines from H_2 at 2.12 mu and 2.40 mu in VLT/SINFONI spectra obtained between days 6489 and 10,120. The emission is concentrated to the core of the supernova in contrast to H-alpha and approximately coincides with the [Si I]/[Fe II] emission detected previously in the ejecta. Different excitation mechanisms and power sources of the emission are discussed. From the nearly constant H_2 luminosities we favour excitation resulting from the 44Ti decay.

arXiv comment5 pages 3 figures, accepted for ApJ Letters

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• ALMA spectral survey of Supernova 1987A --- molecular inventory, chemistry, dynamics and explosive nucleosynthesis
• The 30-Year Search for the Compact Object in SN 1987A
• The role of jets in exploding supernovae and in shaping their remnants
• 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
• Far-ultraviolet fluorescent molecular hydrogen emission map of the Milky Way Galaxy
• Imprints of the jittering jets explosion mechanism in the morphology of the supernova remnant SNR 0540-69.3
• Carbon monoxide formation and cooling in supernovae
• A 3D view of molecular hydrogen in Supernova 1987A
• The morphology of the ejecta of SN 1987A at 31 years from 1150 to 10000 Å
• Near-infrared evolution of the equatorial ring of SN 1987A