| 21st of November 2023 |
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| ATCA Study of Small Magellanic Cloud Supernova Remnant 1E 0102.2–7219 |
| by Alsaberi et al. |
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The Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) is a gas-rich irregular dwarf galaxy
orbiting out own galaxy. As the second nearest star-forming galaxy
after the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), its relatively small distance
of ∼60 kpc (about 200,000 light years) and low Galactic foreground
absorption enables supernova remnants (SNRs) to be studied in great
detail. 1E 0102.2–7219 (hereafter referred to as E0102) is a young
(1738±175 yr) SMC SNR, discovered via X-ray observations taken by the
Einstein Observatory. E0102 is thought to originate from a
core-collapse supernova scenario, given its oxygen-rich nature
observed in the optical band. Progenitor mass estimates range from 40
to 50 solar masses.
Alsaberi et al. present new and archival ATCA and data of E0102, combied with multiwavelength data. The remnant shows a ring-like morphology with a mean radius of 6.2 pc. The 5500 MHz image reveals a bridge-like structure, seen for the first time in a radio image. This structure is also visible in both optical and X-ray images. The team find that the remnant's radio emission extends beyond its X-ray emission tracing a forward and reverse shock with [Fe XIV] emission sandwiched between, possibly representing denser ionized clumps. The image above at left is the ATCA total intensity image at 5500 MHz. The white circles on the lower left corner represent a synthesised beam of 2 arcsec x 2 arcsec. The middle image is a broadband 0.5 to 7.0 keV Chandra X-ray image (with ATCA image contours) and the image at right is an HST [O III] filter image. |