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Title: Confirmation of dust condensation in the ejecta of supernova 1987a

Abstract

Shortly after its outburst, the authors suggested that supernova 1987a might condense a dust shell of substantial visual optical thickness as many classical novae do and predicted that dust might form within a year after the explosion. A critical examination of recent optical and infrared observations reported by others confirms that dust grains had begun to grow at a temperature of 1,000 K after 300 days and that the dust shell had become optically thick by day 600. After day 600, the infrared luminosity closely followed the intrinsic luminosity expected for thermalized {sup 56}Co {gamma} rays, demonstrating that the luminosity is powered by radioactivity and that the dust is outside the radioactivity zone. The infrared luminosity sets an upper limit to the soft intrinsic bolometric luminosity of a pulsar central engine. This upper limit for the pulsar in supernova 1987a is the same luminosity as the Crab pulsar has today 936 years after its formation. It is unlikely that the rotation rate for a pulsar in supernova 1987a can be much higher than {approx}30 revolutions per sec. The relatively long time required for the shell to grow to maximum optical depth as compared with the dust in nova shells maymore » be related to the relatively low outflow velocity of the condensible ejecta.« less

Authors:
;  [1]
  1. Univ. of Minnesota, Minneapolis (USA)
Publication Date:
OSTI Identifier:
5385792
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America; (United States)
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 87:11; Journal ID: ISSN 0027-8424
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSICS; SUPERNOVAE; COSMIC DUST; ASTRONOMY; COBALT 56; GAMMA RADIATION; INFRARED SPECTRA; OPTICAL DEPTH CURVE; PULSARS; SUPERNOVA REMNANTS; BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES; BETA-PLUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES; COBALT ISOTOPES; COSMIC RADIO SOURCES; DAYS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES; DIAGRAMS; DUSTS; ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION; ELECTRON CAPTURE RADIOISOTOPES; ERUPTIVE VARIABLE STARS; INTERMEDIATE MASS NUCLEI; IONIZING RADIATIONS; ISOTOPES; NUCLEI; ODD-ODD NUCLEI; RADIATIONS; RADIOISOTOPES; SPECTRA; STARS; VARIABLE STARS; 640101* - Astrophysics & Cosmology- Cosmic Radiation

Citation Formats

Gehrz, R D, and Ney, E P. Confirmation of dust condensation in the ejecta of supernova 1987a. United States: N. p., 1990. Web. doi:10.1073/pnas.87.11.4354.
Gehrz, R D, & Ney, E P. Confirmation of dust condensation in the ejecta of supernova 1987a. United States. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.87.11.4354
Gehrz, R D, and Ney, E P. 1990. "Confirmation of dust condensation in the ejecta of supernova 1987a". United States. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.87.11.4354.
@article{osti_5385792,
title = {Confirmation of dust condensation in the ejecta of supernova 1987a},
author = {Gehrz, R D and Ney, E P},
abstractNote = {Shortly after its outburst, the authors suggested that supernova 1987a might condense a dust shell of substantial visual optical thickness as many classical novae do and predicted that dust might form within a year after the explosion. A critical examination of recent optical and infrared observations reported by others confirms that dust grains had begun to grow at a temperature of 1,000 K after 300 days and that the dust shell had become optically thick by day 600. After day 600, the infrared luminosity closely followed the intrinsic luminosity expected for thermalized {sup 56}Co {gamma} rays, demonstrating that the luminosity is powered by radioactivity and that the dust is outside the radioactivity zone. The infrared luminosity sets an upper limit to the soft intrinsic bolometric luminosity of a pulsar central engine. This upper limit for the pulsar in supernova 1987a is the same luminosity as the Crab pulsar has today 936 years after its formation. It is unlikely that the rotation rate for a pulsar in supernova 1987a can be much higher than {approx}30 revolutions per sec. The relatively long time required for the shell to grow to maximum optical depth as compared with the dust in nova shells may be related to the relatively low outflow velocity of the condensible ejecta.},
doi = {10.1073/pnas.87.11.4354},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/5385792}, journal = {Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America; (United States)},
issn = {0027-8424},
number = ,
volume = 87:11,
place = {United States},
year = {Fri Jun 01 00:00:00 EDT 1990},
month = {Fri Jun 01 00:00:00 EDT 1990}
}