Free-free absorption parameters of Cassiopeia A from low-frequency interferometric observations

TL;DR

This study measures the low-frequency spectrum of Cassiopeia A using GURT to analyze free-free absorption, providing insights into the ionized gas properties and the evolution of the supernova remnant's flux density.

Contribution

It presents new low-frequency interferometric measurements of Cassiopeia A, characterizing free-free absorption parameters and tracking flux density evolution with improved accuracy.

Findings

Determined emission measure, electron temperature, and ion charge states for the absorbing gas.

Estimated unshocked ejecta mass and electron density under different clumping assumptions.

Confirmed the spectrum aligns with theoretical models and recent literature.

Abstract

Context. Cassiopeia A is one of the most extensively studied supernova remnants (SNRs) in our Galaxy. The analysis of its spectral features with the help of low frequency observations plays an important role for understanding the evolution of the radio source through the propagation of synchrotron emission to observers through the SNR environment and the interstellar medium. Aims. In this paper we present measurements of the integrated spectrum of Cas A to characterize the properties of free-free absorption towards this SNR. We also add new measurements to track its slowly evolving and decreasing integrated flux density. Methods. We use the Giant Ukrainian radio telescope (GURT) for measuring the continuum spectrum of Cassiopeia A within the frequency range of 16-72 MHz. The radio flux density of Cassiopeia A relative to the reference source of the radio galaxy Cygnus A has been measured on May-October, 2019 with two subarrays of the GURT, used as a two-element correlation interferometer. Results. We determine magnitudes of emission measure, electron temperature and an average number of charges of the ions for both internal and external absorbing ionized gas towards in Cassiopeia A. Generally, their values are close to the ones suggested by Arias et al. (2018), although for some there are slight differences. In the absence of clumping we find the unshocked ejecta of M = 2.61 solar mass at the electron density of 15.3 cm^-3 has a gas temperature of T=100 K. If the clumping factor is 0.67, then the unshocked ejecta of 0.96 solar mass the electron density of 18.7 cm^-3. Conclusions. The integrated flux density spectrum of Cassiopeia A obtained with the GURT interferometric observations is consistent with the theoretical model within measurement errors and also reasonably consistent with other recent results in the literature.