New 6cm and 11cm observations of the supernova remnant CTA 1

TL;DR

This study presents new 6cm and 11cm radio observations of the supernova remnant CTA 1, revealing detailed spectral and polarization properties, including a spectral index map and evidence of a Faraday screen affecting the remnant's magnetic field measurements.

Contribution

First detailed spectral index and polarization maps of CTA 1 at 6cm and 11cm, identifying a Faraday screen and magnetic field structure.

Findings

Spectral index of -0.63±0.05 across CTA 1.

Detection of a sharp RM transition indicating a Faraday screen.

Magnetic field strength estimated to be >2.7 microG.

Abstract

(Abridged) We conducted new 6cm and 11cm observations of CTA 1 using the Urumqi 25-m and Effelsberg 100-m telescopes. Data at other wavelengths were included to investigate the spectrum and polarisation properties. We obtained new total intensity and polarisation maps at 6cm and 11cm with angular resolutions of 9.5 arcmin and 4.4 arcmin, respectively. We derived a spectral index of alpha=-0.63+/-0.05 based on the integrated flux densities at 408 MHz, 1420 MHz, 2639 MHz, and 4800 MHz. The spectral index map calculated from data at the four frequencies shows a clear steepening of the spectrum from the strong shell emission towards the north-western breakout region with weak diffuse emission. The decrease of the spectral index is up to about 0.3. The RM map derived from polarisation data at 6cm and 11cm shows a sharp transition between positive RMs in the north-eastern and negative RMs in the south-western part of the SNR. We note a corresponding RM pattern of extragalactic sources and propose the existence of a large-diameter Faraday screen in front of CTA 1, which covers the north-eastern part of the SNR. The RM of the Faraday screen is estimated to be about +45 rad/m2. A RM structure function of CTA 1 indicates a very regular magnetic field within the Faraday screen, which is larger than about 2.7 microG in case of 500 pc distance.