Additional evidence for a pulsar wind nebula in the heart of SN 1987A from multi-epoch X-ray data and MHD modeling

TL;DR

This study provides multi-epoch X-ray observations and MHD modeling evidence supporting the presence of a pulsar wind nebula at the core of SN 1987A, offering insights into its physical characteristics and emission mechanisms.

Contribution

It combines multi-instrument X-ray data with advanced 3D MHD simulations to identify and characterize a pulsar wind nebula in SN 1987A, a novel multi-faceted approach.

Findings

Detection of a heavily absorbed power-law consistent with a PWN.

Spectral parameters align with previous estimates and rule out shock acceleration.

Future Fe K emission will mainly originate from outer shocked ejecta.

Abstract

Since the day of its explosion, supernova (SN) 1987A has been closely monitored to study its evolution and to detect its central compact relic. In fact, the formation of a neutron star is strongly supported by the detection of neutrinos from the SN. However, besides the detection in the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) data of a feature that is compatible with the emission arising from a proto-pulsar wind nebula (PWN), the only hint for the existence of such elusive compact object is provided by the detection of hard emission in NuSTAR data up to ~ 20 keV. We report on the simultaneous analysis of multi-epoch observations of SN 1987A performed with Chandra, XMM-Newton and NuSTAR. We also compare the observations with a state-of-the-art 3D magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulation of SN 1987A. A heavily absorbed power-law, consistent with the emission from a PWN embedded in the heart of SN 1987A, is needed to properly describe the high-energy part of the observed spectra. The spectral parameters of the best-fit power-law are in agreement with the previous estimate, and exclude diffusive shock acceleration as a possible mechanism responsible for the observed non-thermal emission. The information extracted from our analysis are used to infer the physical characteristics of the pulsar and the broad-band emission of its nebula, in agreement with the ALMA data. Analysis of the synthetic spectra also show that, in the near future, the main contribution to Fe K emission line will originate in the outermost shocked ejecta of SN 1987A.