A fresh perspective on the 3D dynamics of Tycho's supernova remnant: Ejecta asymmetries in the X-ray band

TL;DR

This paper introduces new methods to analyze the 3D ejecta dynamics of Tycho's supernova remnant using deep X-ray data, revealing asymmetries and complex motions that inform explosion mechanisms and progenitor identification.

Contribution

It develops novel techniques for measuring line-of-sight velocities and proper motions, enabling comprehensive 3D mapping of the remnant's ejecta dynamics.

Findings

Detected large-scale asymmetry with North blueshifted and South redshifted ejecta.

Mapped complex velocity field showing different dynamics in eastern and western regions.

Identified potential stellar progenitors consistent with explosion center and Gaia data.

Abstract

450 years after the explosion of the Type Ia SN1572, the dynamics of the Tycho supernova remnant can give us keys to understand the explosion mechanism and the interaction of the remnant with the interstellar medium. To probe the asymmetries and the evolution of the SNR, we track the ejecta dynamics using new methods applied to the deep X-ray observations available in the Chandra space telescope archive. For the line of sight velocity measurement Vz, we use the Doppler effect focused on the bright Si line in the 1.6-2.1 keV band. Using the component separation tool General Morphological Component Analysis (GMCA), we successfully disentangle the red and blueshifted Si ejecta emission. This allows us to reconstruct a map of the peak energy of the Si line with a total coverage of the SNR at a 2'' resolution and a proxy of the velocity in the line of sight. For the proper motions in the plane of the sky Vxy, we develop a new method, named Poisson Optical Flow, to measure the displacement of 2D features between the observations of 2003 and 2009. The result is a field of 1700 velocity vectors covering the entire SNR. These exhaustive 3D velocity measurements reveal the complex and patchy dynamics of the SNR. At the large-scale, an asymmetry with the North being dominantly blueshifted and the South redshifted is observed. The proper motion vector field Vxy highlights different dynamics between the East and the West parts of the SNR. The eastern velocity field is more disturbed by external inhomogeneities and the South-East ejecta knot. In particular, a slow-down is observed in the North-East which could be due to the interaction with higher densities as seen in other wavelengths. The vector field is also used to backtrace the center of the explosion which is then compared with potential stellar progenitors distances from the latest Gaia DR3, leaving only stars B and E as possible candidates.