The Astrophysical Journal Letters (Jan 2024)
Shockingly Bright Warm Carbon Monoxide Molecular Features in the Supernova Remnant Cassiopeia A Revealed by JWST
- J. Rho,
- S.-H. Park,
- R. Arendt,
- M. Matsuura,
- D. Milisavljevic,
- T. Temim,
- I. De Looze,
- W. P. Blair,
- A. Rest,
- O. Fox,
- A. P. Ravi,
- B.-C. Koo,
- M. Barlow,
- A. Burrows,
- R. Chevalier,
- G. Clayton,
- R. Fesen,
- C. Fransson,
- C. Fryer,
- H. L. Gomez,
- H.-T. Janka,
- F. Kirchschlager,
- J. M. Laming,
- S. Orlando,
- D. Patnaude,
- G. Pavlov,
- P. Plucinsky,
- B. Posselt,
- F. Priestley,
- J. Raymond,
- N. Sartorio,
- F. Schmidt,
- P. Slane,
- N. Smith,
- N. Sravan,
- J. Vink,
- K. Weil,
- J. Wheeler,
- S. C. Yoon
Affiliations
- J. Rho
- ORCiD
- SETI Institute , 189 Bernardo Avenue, Ste. 200, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA ; [email protected]; Department of Physics and Astronomy, Seoul National University , Gwanak-ro 1, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea
- S.-H. Park
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Seoul National University , Gwanak-ro 1, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea
- R. Arendt
- ORCiD
- Center for Space Sciences and Technology, University of Maryland , Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD 21250, USA; Code 665, NASA/GSFC , 8800 Greenbelt Road, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- M. Matsuura
- ORCiD
- Cardiff Hub for Astrophysics Research and Technology (CHART), School of Physics and Astronomy, Cardiff University , The Parade, Cardiff CF24 3AA, UK
- D. Milisavljevic
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Purdue University , 525 Northwestern Avenue, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
- T. Temim
- ORCiD
- Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University , Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
- I. De Looze
- Sterrenkundig Observatorium, Ghent University , Krijgslaan 281-S9, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium
- W. P. Blair
- ORCiD
- William H. Miller III Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University , 3400 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
- A. Rest
- ORCiD
- William H. Miller III Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University , 3400 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA; Space Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
- O. Fox
- ORCiD
- Space Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
- A. P. Ravi
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California , 1 Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616-5270, USA
- B.-C. Koo
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Seoul National University , Gwanak-ro 1, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea
- M. Barlow
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London , Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK
- A. Burrows
- ORCiD
- Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University , Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
- R. Chevalier
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy, University of Virginia , Charlottesville, VA 22904-4325, USA
- G. Clayton
- Department of Physics & Astronomy, Louisiana State University , Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA
- R. Fesen
- ORCiD
- 6127 Wilder Lab, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Dartmouth College , Hanover, NH 03755, USA
- C. Fransson
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy, Stockholm University , The Oskar Klein Centre, AlbaNova, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
- C. Fryer
- ORCiD
- Center for Nonlinear Studies, Los Alamos National Laboratory , Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA
- H. L. Gomez
- ORCiD
- Cardiff Hub for Astrophysical Research and Technology (CHART), School of Physics & Astronomy, Cardiff University , The Parade, Cardiff, CF24 3AA, UK
- H.-T. Janka
- ORCiD
- Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics , Karl-Schwarzschild-Str. 1, 85748 Garching, Germany
- F. Kirchschlager
- ORCiD
- Sterrenkundig Observatorium, Ghent University , Krijgslaan 281-S9, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium
- J. M. Laming
- Space Science Division, Code 7684, Naval Research Laboratory , Washington DC 20375, USA
- S. Orlando
- ORCiD
- INAF—Osservatorio Astronomico di Palermo , Piazza del Parlamento 1, 90134 Palermo, Italy
- D. Patnaude
- ORCiD
- Center for Astrophysics ∣ Harvard & Smithsonian , 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
- G. Pavlov
- Pennsylvania State University , Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics, 525 Davey Lab., University Park, PA 16802, USA
- P. Plucinsky
- Center for Astrophysics ∣ Harvard & Smithsonian , 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
- B. Posselt
- Oxford Astrophysics, University of Oxford , Denys Wilkinson Building, Keble Road, Oxford, OX1 3RH, UK
- F. Priestley
- ORCiD
- Cardiff Hub for Astrophysical Research and Technology (CHART), School of Physics & Astronomy, Cardiff University , The Parade, Cardiff, CF24 3AA, UK
- J. Raymond
- ORCiD
- Center for Astrophysics ∣ Harvard & Smithsonian , 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
- N. Sartorio
- Sterrenkundig Observatorium, Ghent University , Krijgslaan 281-S9, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium
- F. Schmidt
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London , Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK
- P. Slane
- Center for Astrophysics ∣ Harvard & Smithsonian , 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
- N. Smith
- ORCiD
- Steward Observatory, University of Arizona , 933 N. Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
- N. Sravan
- Department of Physics, Drexel University , Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
- J. Vink
- ORCiD
- Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy & GRAPPA, University of Amsterdam , Science Park 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- K. Weil
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, 6127 Wilder Laboratory, Dartmouth College , Hanover, NH 03755, USA
- J. Wheeler
- ORCiD
- University of Texas at Austin , 1 University Station C1400, Austin, TX 78712-0259, USA
- S. C. Yoon
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Seoul National University , Gwanak-ro 1, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ad5186
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 969,
no. 1
p. L9
Abstract
We present JWST NIRCam (F356W and F444W filters) and MIRI (F770W) images and NIRSpec Integral Field Unit (IFU) spectroscopy of the young Galactic supernova remnant Cassiopeia A (Cas A) to probe the physical conditions for molecular CO formation and destruction in supernova ejecta. We obtained the data as part of a JWST survey of Cas A. The NIRCam and MIRI images map the spatial distributions of synchrotron radiation, Ar-rich ejecta, and CO on both large and small scales, revealing remarkably complex structures. The CO emission is stronger at the outer layers than the Ar ejecta, which indicates the re-formation of CO molecules behind the reverse shock. NIRSpec-IFU spectra (3–5.5 μ m) were obtained toward two representative knots in the NE and S fields that show very different nucleosynthesis characteristics. Both regions are dominated by the bright fundamental rovibrational band of CO in the two R and P branches, with strong [Ar vi ] and relatively weaker, variable strength ejecta lines of [Si ix ], [Ca iv ], [Ca v ], and [Mg iv ]. The NIRSpec-IFU data resolve individual ejecta knots and filaments spatially and in velocity space. The fundamental CO band in the JWST spectra reveals unique shapes of CO, showing a few tens of sinusoidal patterns of rovibrational lines with pseudocontinuum underneath, which is attributed to the high-velocity widths of CO lines. Our results with LTE modeling of CO emission indicate a temperature of ∼1080 K and provide unique insight into the correlations between dust, molecules, and highly ionized ejecta in supernovae and have strong ramifications for modeling dust formation that is led by CO cooling in the early Universe.
Keywords
- Supernova remnants
- Metal-containing molecules
- CO line emission
- Supernovae
- James Webb Space Telescope
- Ejecta
