A 10 year proper motion measurement using the Hubble Space Telescope of the forward shock of 0509-67.5, a supernova remnant in the Large Magellanic Cloud
Abstract
SNR 0509-67.5 is a young and unique Balmer-dominated supernova remnant in the Large Magellanic Cloud, whose light echo measurements show it to be of Type-Ia origin (Rest et al. 2008). Using narrow-band multi-epoch HST observations of this remnant, we determine the proper motion measurements of its expanding forward shock. The two images we use for our analysis were observed with the Advanced Camera for Surveys and are spread ∼10 years apart, which allows us to measure shock speeds to significantly better accuracy than the previous results from Hovey et al. (2015). We also improve upon the dynamical offset of the explosion site from the geometric center, by measuring for the first time, the offsets resulting from expansion in the North-South direction. This, along with the improved results from the East-West direction, allow us to place strong constraints on the search radius for a possible surviving companion star. In addition to this, we employ 1-D hydrodynamic simulations, and consider different initial ejecta density profiles and equation of state for the shocked interstellar medium (ISM) to constrain the density of the ambient medium and the age of the remnant. Our improved results provide tight measurements on the blast-wave shock speeds and examine the physical conditions of the surrounding ambient medium. We consider the different interpretations of an asymmetric expansion, and ultimately provide a strong avenue to test for a surviving progenitor companion star, shedding light into the nature of Type Ia progenitor systems. Funding for program: This work was partially supported by grant HST-GO-14733.001-A from the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Incorporated, under NASA contract NAS5-26555.
- Publication:
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American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts #233
- Pub Date:
- January 2019
- Bibcode:
- 2019AAS...23315012A