Dense Molecular Clouds in the Crab Supernova Remnant
Authors
Bentley, Rory O
Baldwin, J
Combes, F
Loh, E
Salome, P
Castro-Carrizo, A
Publication Date
2022-01-01Journal Title
The Astrophysical Journal
ISSN
0004-637X
Publisher
American Astronomical Society
Volume
925
Issue
1
Language
en
Type
Article
This Version
VoR
Metadata
Show full item recordCitation
Wootten, A., Bentley, R. O., Baldwin, J., Combes, F., Fabian, A., Ferland, G., Loh, E., et al. (2022). Dense Molecular Clouds in the Crab Supernova Remnant. The Astrophysical Journal, 925 (1) https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ac391a
Abstract
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title>
<jats:p>Molecular emission was imaged with ALMA from numerous components near and within bright H<jats:sub>2</jats:sub>-emitting knots and absorbing dust globules in the Crab Nebula. These observations provide a critical test of how energetic photons and particles produced in a young supernova remnant interact with gas, cleanly differentiating between competing models. The four fields targeted show contrasting properties but within them, seventeen distinct molecular clouds are identified with CO emission; a few also show emission from HCO<jats:sup>+</jats:sup>, SiO, and/or SO. These observations are compared with Cloudy models of these knots. It has been suggested that the Crab filaments present an exotic environment in which H<jats:sub>2</jats:sub> emission comes from a mostly neutral zone probably heated by cosmic rays produced in the supernova surrounding a cool core of molecular gas. Our model is consistent with the observed CO <jats:italic>J</jats:italic> = 3 − 2 line strength. These molecular line emitting knots in the Crab Nebula present a novel phase of the ISM representative of many important astrophysical environments.</jats:p>
Keywords
320, Interstellar Matter and the Local Universe
Sponsorship
National Science Foundation (NSF) (1816537, 191068)
NASA ((ATP 17-ATP17-0141, 19-ATP19-0188)
Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) ((HST-AR- 15018 and HST-GO-16196.003-A))
Identifiers
apjac391a, ac391a, aas32498
External DOI: https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ac391a
This record's URL: https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/333335
Rights
Licence:
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
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