Mid-infrared imaging of Supernova 1987A
Mikako Matsuura (1), Roger Wesson (2, 1), Richard G. Arendt (3, 4),, Eli Dwek (3) James M. De Buizer (5), John Danziger (6), Patrice Bouchet, (7,8), M.J. Barlow (2), Phil Cigan (9), Haley L. Gomez (1), Jeonghee Rho, (10), Margaret Meixner (11, 12) ((1) Cardiff University

TL;DR
This study monitors the evolution of dust emission in Supernova 1987A's equatorial ring over 15 years using mid-infrared imaging, revealing asymmetric shock interactions and changes in dust heating and destruction.
Contribution
It provides the first long-term mid-infrared observational dataset of SN 1987A's ring, showing evolving shock impacts and dust emission asymmetries over time.
Findings
East side of the ring brightened then faded in IR emission.
West side of the ring has brightened in IR emission.
IR to X-ray brightness ratio has declined since 2007.
Abstract
At a distance of 50 kpc, Supernova 1987A is an ideal target to study how a young supernova (SN) evolves in time. Its equatorial ring, filled with material expelled from the progenitor star about 20,000 years ago, has been engulfed with SN blast waves. Shocks heat dust grains in the ring, emitting their energy at mid-infrared (IR) wavelengths We present ground-based 10--18m monitoring of the ring of SN 1987A from day 6067 to 12814 at a resolution of 0.5", together with SOFIA photometry at 10-30 m. The IR images in the 2000's (day 6067-7242) showed that the shocks first began brightening the east side of the ring. Later, our mid-IR images from 2017 to 2022 (day 10952-12714) show that dust emission is now fading in the east, while it has brightened on the west side of the ring. Because dust grains are heated in the shocked plasma, which can emit X-rays, the IR and X-ray…
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Taxonomy
TopicsGamma-ray bursts and supernovae
