Suzaku Observation of 30Dor C: A Supernova Remnant with the Largest Non-Thermal Shell

TL;DR

This study uses Suzaku X-ray observations to analyze 30 Dor C, a supernova remnant in the Large Magellanic Cloud, revealing it as the oldest shell-like SNR with the highest energy particle acceleration among similar remnants.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed spectral analysis of 30 Dor C, identifying its unique non-thermal features and establishing it as the highest energy accelerator among shell-type SNRs.

Findings

The west rim exhibits a non-thermal spectrum with a spectral cutoff at the highest frequency among shell SNRs.

The thermal plasmas in the SE and NE rims are in collisional ionization equilibrium with higher electron temperatures than previously reported.

30 Dor C is estimated to be between 4,000 and 20,000 years old, making it the oldest known shell-like SNR with non-thermal emission.

Abstract

This paper reports on the Suzaku results of thermal and non-thermal features of 30 Dor C, a supernova remnant (SNR) in a superbubble of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). The west rim exhibits a non-thermal X-ray spectrum with no thermal component. A single power-law model is rejected but a power-law model with spectral cutoff is accepted. The cutoff frequency of $(3-7)\times 10^{17}$ Hz is the highest among the shell type SNRs like SN 1006 ($\sim 6\times 10^{16}$ Hz), and hence 30 Dor C would be the site of the highest energy accelerator of the SNR shock. The southeast (SE) and northeast (NE) rims have both the thermal and non-thermal components. The thin-thermal plasmas in the both rims are in collisional ionization equilibrium state. The electron temperature of the plasma in the SE rim ($kT_e \sim 0.7$ keV) is found to be higher than the previously reported value. The power-law index from SE is nearly the same as, while that from the NE is larger than that of the West rim. The SNR age would be in the range of $(4-20)\times 10^3$ yr. Thus, 30 Dor C is likely to be the oldest shell-like SNR with non-thermal emission.