An HST Survey of the Highest-Velocity Ejecta in Cassiopeia A

TL;DR

This study uses Hubble Space Telescope images to analyze high-velocity sulfur-rich ejecta in Cassiopeia A, revealing nearly 3400 knots in opposing streams with extreme velocities, providing insights into the supernova explosion dynamics.

Contribution

It presents the first detailed survey of the high-velocity sulfur-rich ejecta in Cassiopeia A, significantly expanding the known number of knots and analyzing their velocities, composition, and implications for explosion mechanisms.

Findings

Nearly 3400 sulfur-emitting knots identified.

Ejecta knots reach velocities up to ~16,000 km/s.

Jets are kinematically and chemically distinct from the remnant.

Abstract

We present Hubble Space Telescope WFC3/IR images of the Cassiopeia A supernova remnant that survey its high-velocity, S-rich debris in the NE jet and SW counterjet regions through [S III] 9069, 9531 and [S II] 10,287 - 10,370 line emissions. We identify nearly 3400 sulfur emitting knots concentrated in ~120 degree wide opposing streams, almost triple the number previously known. The vast majority of these ejecta knots lie at projected distances well out ahead of the remnant's forward blast wave and main shell ejecta, extending to angular distance of 320" to the NE and 260" to the SW from the center of expansion. Such angular distances imply undecelerated ejecta knot transverse velocities of 15,600 and 12,700 km/s respectively, assuming an explosion date ~1670 AD and a distance of 3.4 kpc. Optical spectra of knots near the outermost tip of the NE ejecta stream show strong emission lines of S, Ca, and Ar. We estimate a total mass ~0.1 Msun and a kinetic energy of at least ~1 x10^50 erg for S-rich ejecta in the NE jet and SW counterjet. Although their broadness and kinetic energy argue against the Cas~A SN being a jet-induced explosion, the jets are kinematically and chemically distinct from the rest of the remnant. This may reflect an origin in a jet-like mechanism that accelerated interior material from a Si,S,Ar,Ca-rich region near the progenitor's core up through the mantle and H,He,N and O-rich outer layers with velocities that greatly exceeded that of the rapidly expanding photosphere.