Titanium hidden in dust
Abstract
Cassiopeia A, one of the most intriguing Galactic supernova remnants, has been a target of many observational efforts including most recent observations by Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), Hubble, Herschel, Spitzer, NuSTAR, INTEGRAL, and other observatories. We use recent gamma-ray lines observations of the radioactive products of Cas A supernova explosive nucleosynthesis and spectral energy densities derived for Cas A at infrared wavelengths to speculate about the possibility of radioactive {}^{44}_{}Ti being locked into large dust grains. This suggestion is also supported by the possible observation of a pre-supernova outburst about 80 yr before the actual Cas A supernova explosion in 1671 AD by Italian astronomer G. D. Cassini. The plausibility of such a scenario is discussed also with reference to recent supernovae, and to the contribution of core-collapse supernovae to the overall dust production in the Galaxy.
- Publication:
-
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
- Pub Date:
- May 2019
- DOI:
- 10.1093/mnras/stz419
- arXiv:
- arXiv:1902.02249
- Bibcode:
- 2019MNRAS.485.3288I
- Keywords:
-
- supernovae: individual: Cas A;
- supernovae: individual: SN 1987A;
- dust;
- extinction;
- ISM: supernova remnants;
- Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
- E-Print:
- 8 pages, 5 figures