Evidence for heavy element dust clumps from the increasing 1300 mu.m emission from supernova 1987A.
Abstract
The Supernova 1987A in the Large Magellanic Cloud was rediscovered at 1300 microns in September 1990 (day 1283 - 1290) and in August 1991 (day 1644 - 1646). The 1300 micron flux density was 7.591 +/- 2.45 mJy in 1990 and 18.81 +/- 4.0 mJy in 1991. The flux level and this increase can be easily understood in a picture, where the dust clumps emitting the FIR and mm emission are almost completely composed of only heavy elements. This is consistent with the new supernova explosion calculations of Fryxell et al. which also demonstrate that such clumps of only heavy elements form; this picture is now directly confirmed. This model predicts that the flux density at 1300 microns should begin to decrease as soon as the dust clumps become optically thin at that wavelength, a prediction that is easy to test with the now available receiver system.
- Publication:
-
Astronomy and Astrophysics
- Pub Date:
- February 1992
- Bibcode:
- 1992A&A...255L...5B
- Keywords:
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- Cosmic Dust;
- Emission Spectra;
- Flux Density;
- Radio Sources (Astronomy);
- Supernova 1987a;
- Astronomical Models;
- Heavy Elements;
- Infrared Astronomy;
- Optical Thickness;
- Astrophysics