G306.3-0.9: A newly discovered young galactic supernova remnant

TL;DR

This paper reports the discovery and multi-wavelength analysis of G306.3-0.9, a young Galactic supernova remnant with unique radio and X-ray features, providing insights into its age, morphology, and dust content.

Contribution

It presents the first detailed X-ray and radio observations of G306.3-0.9, identifying it as one of the youngest Galactic SNRs with the lowest recorded radio flux.

Findings

G306.3-0.9 is approximately 2500 years old.

It has the lowest radio flux among Galactic SNRs to date.

The remnant shows evidence of warm dust and no compact stellar remnant.

Abstract

We present X-ray and radio observations of the new Galactic supernova remnant (SNR) G306.3-0.9, recently discovered by Swift. Chandra imaging reveals a complex morphology, dominated by a bright shock. The X-ray spectrum is broadly consistent with a young SNR in the Sedov phase, implying an age of 2500 yr for a distance of 8 kpc, plausibly identifying this as one of the 20 youngest Galactic SNRs. Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) imaging reveals a prominent ridge of radio emission that correlates with the X-ray emission. We find a flux density of ~ 160 mJy at 1 GHz, which is the lowest radio flux recorded for a Galactic SNR to date. The remnant is also detected at 24microns, indicating the presence of irradiated warm dust. The data reveal no compelling evidence for the presence of a compact stellar remnant.