A study of Kepler supernova remnant: angular power spectrum estimation from radio frequency data

TL;DR

This study estimates the angular power spectrum of synchrotron emission fluctuations in the Kepler supernova remnant using VLA radio data, revealing turbulence characteristics and a break related to shell thickness.

Contribution

It introduces a novel visibility-based estimator for the angular power spectrum and applies it to Kepler SNR data, providing new insights into turbulence and structure.

Findings

Power spectrum follows a broken power law with a break at specific angular scales.

Slope before the break matches 2D Kolmogorov turbulence, consistent with earlier SNR studies.

Post-break slope suggests 3D Kolmogorov turbulence, with foregrounds affecting high-ell measurements.

Abstract

Supernova remnants (SNRs) have a variety of overall morphology as well as rich structures over a wide range of scales. Quantitative study of these structures can potentially reveal fluctuations of density and magnetic field originating from the interaction with ambient medium and turbulence in the expanding ejecta. We have used $1.5$GHz (L band) and $5$GHz (C band) VLA data to estimate the angular power spectrum $C_{\ell}$ of the synchrotron emission fluctuations of the Kepler SNR. This is done using the novel, visibility based, Tapered Gridded Estimator of $C_{\ell}$. We have found that, for $\ell = (1.9 - 6.9) \times 10^{4}$, the power spectrum is a broken power law with a break at $\ell = 3.3 \times 10^{4}$, and power law index of $-2.84\pm 0.07$ and $-4.39\pm 0.04$ before and after the break respectively. The slope $-2.84$ is consistent with 2D Kolmogorov turbulence and earlier measurements for the Tycho SNR. We interpret the break to be related to the shell thickness of the SNR ($0.35 $ pc) which approximately matches $\ell = 3.3 \times 10^{4}$ (i.e., $0.48$ pc). However, for $\ell > 6.9 \times 10^{4}$, the estimated $C_{\ell}$ of L band is likely to have dominant contribution from the foregrounds while for C band the power law slope $-3.07\pm 0.02$ is roughly consistent with $3$D Kolmogorov turbulence like that observed at large $\ell$ for Cas A and Crab SNRs.