A Dust Twin of Cas A: Cool Dust and 21-micron Silicate Dust Feature in the Supernova Remnant G54.1+0.3

TL;DR

This study presents multi-wavelength IR and submillimeter observations of SNR G54.1+0.3, revealing dust features, including a 21-micron silicate feature, and estimates of dust mass, supporting supernovae as significant dust sources.

Contribution

First detailed IR and submillimeter analysis of G54.1+0.3 revealing dust composition, morphology, and mass, with implications for supernova dust production in the early Universe.

Findings

Detection of 9, 11, and 21 micron dust features.

Identification of cold dust with temperature 27-44 K.

Estimated dust mass between 0.08 and 0.9 solar masses.

Abstract

We present infrared (IR) and submillimeter observations of the Crab-like supernova remnant (SNR) G54.1+0.3 including 350 micron (SHARC-II), 870 micron (LABOCA), 70, 100, 160, 250, 350, 500 micron (Herschel) and 3-40 micron (Spitzer). We detect dust features at 9, 11 and 21 micron and a long wavelength continuum dust component. The 21 micron dust coincides with [Ar II] ejecta emission, and the feature is remarkably similar to that in Cas A. The IRAC 8 micron image including Ar ejecta is distributed in a shell-like morphology which is coincident with dust features, suggesting that dust has formed in the ejecta. We create a cold dust map that shows excess emission in the northwestern shell. We fit the spectral energy distribution of the SNR using the continuous distributions of ellipsoidal (CDE) grain model of pre-solar grain SiO2 that reproduces the 21 and 9 micron dust features and discuss grains of SiC and PAH that may be responsible for the 10-13 micron dust features. To reproduce the long-wavelength continuum, we explore models consisting of different grains including Mg2SiO4, MgSiO3, Al2O3, FeS, carbon, and Fe3O4. We tested a model with a temperature-dependent silicate absorption coefficient. We detect cold dust (27-44 K) in the remnant, making this the fourth such SNR with freshly-formed dust. The total dust mass in the SNR ranges from 0.08-0.9 Msun depending on the grain composition, which is comparable to predicted masses from theoretical models. Our estimated dust masses are consistent with the idea that SNe are a significant source of dust in the early Universe.