A Broadband Study of the Emission from the Composite Supernova Remnant MSH 11-62
Abstract
MSH 11-62 (G291.0-0.1) is a composite supernova remnant for which radio and X-ray observations have identified the remnant shell as well as its central pulsar wind nebula. The observations suggest a relatively young system expanding into a low-density region. Here, we present a study of MSH 11-62 using observations with the Chandra, XMM -Newton, and Fermi observatories, along with radio observations from the Australia Telescope Compact Array. We identify a compact X-ray source that appears to be the putative pulsar that powers the nebula, and show that the X-ray spectrum of the nebula bears the signature of synchrotron losses as particles diffuse into the outer nebula. Using data from the Fermi Large Area Telescope, we identify γ-ray emission originating from MSH 11-62. With density constraints from the new X-ray measurements of the remnant, we model the evolution of the composite system in order to constrain the properties of the underlying pulsar and the origin of the γ-ray emission.
- Publication:
-
The Astrophysical Journal
- Pub Date:
- April 2012
- DOI:
- 10.1088/0004-637X/749/2/131
- arXiv:
- arXiv:1202.3371
- Bibcode:
- 2012ApJ...749..131S
- Keywords:
-
- ISM: individual objects: MSH-11-62;
- ISM: supernova remnants;
- radiation mechanisms: non-thermal;
- stars: neutron;
- Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena;
- Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies
- E-Print:
- 12 Pages, 12 figures. Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal