SUPERNOVA REMNANTS AND THE INTERSTELLAR MEDIUM OF M83: IMAGING AND PHOTOMETRY WITH THE WIDE FIELD CAMERA 3 ON THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE
- Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics, The Australian National University, Cotter Road, Weston Creek, ACT 2611 (Australia)
- Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD (United States)
- Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD (United States)
- Department of Astronomy, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195-1580 (United States)
- Department of Astronomy, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003 (United States)
- Institute of Astronomy, ETH-Zurich, CH-8093 Zurich (Switzerland)
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF24 3AA (United Kingdom)
- Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Washington, DC 20005 (United States)
- Department of Astronomy, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904-4325 (United States)
- Institute for Astronomy, Honolulu, HI 96822 (United States)
- New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003 (United States)
- Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States)
- Carnegie Institute of Washington, Pasadena, CA 91101-1292 (United States)
- Institute of Space Astrophysics, INAF, 40129 Bologna (Italy)
- NOAO, Tucson, AZ 85726-6732 (United States)
We present Wide Field Camera 3 images taken with the Hubble Space Telescope within a single field in the southern grand design star-forming galaxy M83. Based on their size, morphology, and photometry in continuum-subtracted Halpha, [S II], Hbeta, [O III], and [O II] filters, we have identified 60 supernova remnant (SNR) candidates, as well as a handful of young ejecta-dominated candidates. A catalog of these remnants, their sizes and, where possible, their Halpha fluxes are given. Radiative ages and pre-shock densities are derived from those SNRs that have good photometry. The ages lie in the range 2.62 < log (tau{sub rad}/yr) < 5.0, and the pre-shock densities at the blast wave range over 0.56 < n{sub 0}/cm{sup -3} < 1680. Two populations of SNRs have been discovered. These divide into a nuclear and spiral arm group and an inter-arm population. We infer an arm to inter-arm density contrast of 4. The surface flux in diffuse X-rays is correlated with the inferred pre-shock density, indicating that the warm interstellar medium (ISM) is pressurized by the hot X-ray plasma. We also find that the ISM in the nuclear region of M83 is characterized by a very high porosity and pressure, and infer an SNR rate of 1 per 70-150 yr for the nuclear (R < 300 pc) region. On the basis of the number of SNRs detected and their radiative ages, we infer that the lower mass of Type II SNe in M83 is M{sub min} = 16{sup +7}{sub -5} M{sub sun}. Finally, we give evidence for the likely detection of the remnant of the historical supernova, SN1968L.
- OSTI ID:
- 21394469
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 710, Issue 2; Other Information: DOI: 10.1088/0004-637X/710/2/964; ISSN 0004-637X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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