Location of 20 SNRs with detected diffuse UV radiation (red squares) and 5 SNRs with likely but perturbed diffuse radiation (blue squares) superimposed on an image of the Andromeda Galaxy with the F148W filter. Credit: Leahy et al, 2023
Astronomers at the University of Calgary in Canada used the AstroSat satellite to identify 20 supernova remnants (SNRs) in the Andromeda Galaxy. The findings were presented in a research paper published January 25. arXiv A preprint server may help to better understand the origin and properties of UV radiation in SNR.
The SNR is a spreading and expanding structure, supernova explosionThey contain material ejected from explosions and other interstellar material swept away by passing shock waves from exploding stars.
The study of supernova remnants Astronomerbecause it plays an important role in the evolution of galaxies, heavy element Created in supernova explosions, they provide the energy needed to heat the interstellar medium. SNR is also believed to be involved in the acceleration of galactic cosmic rays.
Many extragalactic SNRs have been detected to date, but those exhibiting ultraviolet (UV) radiation are difficult to find, mainly due to the strong interstellar annihilation of galaxies in the UV. Notably, despite recent advances in UV-based SNR research, a catalog of extragalactic UV radiation SNRs still does not exist.
So a team of astronomers led by Denis Leahy decided to search the nearby Andromeda Galaxy (also known as Messier 31 or M31) for UV emission SNR. galaxy. For this purpose, they adapted his AstroSat’s Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (UVIT).
“The UV image of M31 was obtained by the AstroSat satellite’s Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope. The list of SNRs was obtained from the X-ray, optical and radio catalog of SNRs of M31. Using the UVIT image, the diffuse We found the SNR of the radiation, excluding those that were too polluted by stellar radiation,” the researchers wrote in their paper.
The team first selected 177 SNRs to investigate whether they exhibited diffuse UV radiation. Of the total sample, 20 supernova remnants were found to be UV emitters. The identified sources show diffuse emission that is not associated with stars, although the intensity of diffuse emission varies.
Astronomers compared the band luminosity of these 20 SNRs to seven previously known UV-radiant SNR band luminosities of the Milky Way, the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), and the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). As a result, they found similar spectral shapes between known SNRs and those of the Andromeda galaxy. Findings suggest an ultraviolet emission from supernova remnant It is reported in this paper that line emission is dominant and this emission is related to SNR.
The authors of this study propose spectroscopic observations to confirm the lineal nature of the UV radiation from the newly identified SNR. However, they point out that it would be difficult to perform spectroscopy of the typically crowded region of the Andromeda galaxy where these SNRs are located.
For more information:
Denis Leahy et al., Discovery of 20 UV emission SNRs of M31 using UVIT, arXiv (2023). DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2301.10381
Journal information:
arXiv
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Quote: Astronomers identify the Andromeda Galaxy (2023-02-02) obtained from https://phys.org/news/2023-02-astronomers-ultraviolet-emit-supernova-remnants-andromeda on 02-02-2023 identify 20 ultraviolet-radiating supernova remnants. html
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