NuSTAR Detection of a Hard X-ray Source in the Supernova Remnant - Molecular Cloud Interaction Site of IC 443

Abstract

We report on a broadband study of a complex X-ray source (1SAX J0618.0+2227) associated with the interaction site of the supernova remnant (SNR) IC 443 and ambient molecular cloud (MC) using NuSTAR, XMM_Newton, and Chandra observations. Its X-ray spectrum is composed of both thermal and non-thermal components. The thermal component can be equally well represented by either a thin plasma model with kT=0.19 keV or a blackbody model with kT=0.11 keV. The non-thermal component can be fit with either a power-law with Gamma~1.7 or a cutoff power-law with Gamma~1.5 and a cutoff energy at E_cut~18 keV. Using the newly obtained NuSTAR dataset, we test three possible scenarios for isolated X-ray sources in the SNR-MC interaction site: 1) pulsar wind nebula (PWN); 2) SNR ejecta fragment; 3) shocked molecular clump. We conclude that this source is most likely composed of a SNR ejecta (or a PWN) and surrounding shocked molecular clumps. The nature of this hard X-ray source in the SNR-MC interaction site of IC 443 may shed light on unidentified X-ray sources with hard X-ray spectra in rich environments for star forming regions, such as the Galactic center.

arXiv comment10 pages, 6 figures. Accepted by ApJ

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• A Systematic Study of the dust of Galactic Supernova Remnants I. The Distance and the Extinction
• Numerical simulations of supernova remnants in turbulent molecular clouds
• Modeling the mixed-morphology supernova remnant IC 443. Origin of its complex morphology and X-ray emission
• NuSTAR and Chandra Observation of the Galactic Center Non-thermal X-ray Filament G0.13-0.11: A Pulsar Wind Nebula Driven Magnetic Filament
• Geminga's pulsar halo: an X-ray view
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• QUIJOTE scientific results -- V. The microwave intensity and polarisation spectra of the Galactic regions W49, W51 and IC443