A Broadband Study of the Emission from the Composite Supernova Remnant MSH 11-62

TL;DR

This study combines multi-wavelength observations to analyze the emission, structure, and evolution of the composite supernova remnant MSH 11-62, identifying a pulsar and gamma-ray emission, and modeling the system's properties.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the pulsar, nebula, and gamma-ray emission of MSH 11-62 through comprehensive multi-observatory data analysis and modeling.

Findings

Identification of a compact X-ray source as the pulsar

Detection of gamma-ray emission from MSH 11-62

Modeling constrains pulsar and remnant properties

Abstract

MSH 11-62 (G291.1-0.9) is a composite supernova remnant for which radio and X-ray observations have identified the remnant shell as well as its central pulsar wind nebula. The observations suggest a relatively young system expanding into a low density region. Here we present a study of MSH 11-62 using observations with the Chandra, XMM-Newton, and Fermi observatories, along with radio observations from the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA). We identify a compact X-ray source that appears to be the putative pulsar that powers the nebula, and show that the X-ray spectrum of the nebula bears the signature of synchrotron losses as particles diffuse into the outer nebula. Using data from the Fermi LAT, we identify gamma-ray emission originating from MSH 11-62. With density constraints from the new X-ray measurements of the remnant, we model the evolution of the composite system in order to constrain the properties of the underlying pulsar and the origin of the gamma-ray emission.