JWST NIRCam Observations of SN 1987A: Spitzer Comparison and Spectral Decomposition

Richard G. Arendt; Martha L. Boyer; Eli Dwek; Mikako Matsuura; Aravind P. Ravi; Armin Rest; Roger Chevalier; Phil Cigan; Ilse De Looze; Guido De Marchi; Claes Fransson; Christa Gall; R. D. Gehrz; Haley L. Gomez; Tuomas Kangas; Florian Kirchschlager; Robert P. Kirshner; Josefin Larsson; Peter Lundqvist; Dan Milisavljevic; Sangwook Park; Nathan Smith; Jason Spyromilio; Tea Temim; Lifan Wang; J. Craig Wheeler; Charles E. Woodward

doi:10.3847/1538-4357/acfd95

JWST NIRCam Observations of SN 1987A: Spitzer Comparison and Spectral Decomposition

Richard G. Arendt, Martha L. Boyer, Eli Dwek, Mikako Matsuura, Aravind P. Ravi, Armin Rest, Roger Chevalier, Phil Cigan, Ilse De Looze, Guido De Marchi, Claes Fransson, Christa Gall, R. D. Gehrz, Haley L. Gomez, Tuomas Kangas, Florian Kirchschlager, Robert P. Kirshner, Josefin Larsson, Peter Lundqvist, Dan MilisavljevicSangwook Park, Nathan Smith, Jason Spyromilio, Tea Temim, Lifan Wang, J. Craig Wheeler, Charles E. Woodward

Physics and Astronomy (Twin Cities)

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2 Scopus citations

Abstract

JWST Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam) observations at 1.5-4.5 μm have provided broadband and narrowband imaging of the evolving remnant of SN 1987A with unparalleled sensitivity and spatial resolution. Comparing with previous marginally spatially resolved Spitzer Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) observations from 2004 to 2019 confirms that the emission arises from the circumstellar equatorial ring (ER), and the current brightness at 3.6 and 4.5 μm was accurately predicted by extrapolation of the declining brightness tracked by IRAC. Despite the regular light curve, the NIRCam observations clearly reveal that much of this emission is from a newly developing outer portion of the ER. Spots in the outer ER tend to lie at position angles in between the well-known ER hotspots. We show that the bulk of the emission in the field can be represented by five standard spectral energy distributions, each with a distinct origin and spatial distribution. This spectral decomposition provides a powerful technique for distinguishing overlapping emission from the circumstellar medium and the supernova ejecta, excited by the forward and reverse shocks, respectively.

Original language	English (US)
Article number	95
Journal	Astrophysical Journal
Volume	959
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/acfd95
State	Published - Dec 1 2023

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© 2023. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society.

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Arendt, R. G., Boyer, M. L., Dwek, E., Matsuura, M., Ravi, A. P., Rest, A., Chevalier, R., Cigan, P., De Looze, I., De Marchi, G., Fransson, C., Gall, C., Gehrz, R. D., Gomez, H. L., Kangas, T., Kirchschlager, F., Kirshner, R. P., Larsson, J., Lundqvist, P., ... Woodward, C. E. (2023). JWST NIRCam Observations of SN 1987A: Spitzer Comparison and Spectral Decomposition. Astrophysical Journal, 959(2), Article 95. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/acfd95

Arendt, RG, Boyer, ML, Dwek, E, Matsuura, M, Ravi, AP, Rest, A, Chevalier, R, Cigan, P, De Looze, I, De Marchi, G, Fransson, C, Gall, C, Gehrz, RD, Gomez, HL, Kangas, T, Kirchschlager, F, Kirshner, RP, Larsson, J, Lundqvist, P, Milisavljevic, D, Park, S, Smith, N, Spyromilio, J, Temim, T, Wang, L, Wheeler, JC & Woodward, CE 2023, 'JWST NIRCam Observations of SN 1987A: Spitzer Comparison and Spectral Decomposition', Astrophysical Journal, vol. 959, no. 2, 95. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/acfd95

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abstract = "JWST Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam) observations at 1.5-4.5 μm have provided broadband and narrowband imaging of the evolving remnant of SN 1987A with unparalleled sensitivity and spatial resolution. Comparing with previous marginally spatially resolved Spitzer Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) observations from 2004 to 2019 confirms that the emission arises from the circumstellar equatorial ring (ER), and the current brightness at 3.6 and 4.5 μm was accurately predicted by extrapolation of the declining brightness tracked by IRAC. Despite the regular light curve, the NIRCam observations clearly reveal that much of this emission is from a newly developing outer portion of the ER. Spots in the outer ER tend to lie at position angles in between the well-known ER hotspots. We show that the bulk of the emission in the field can be represented by five standard spectral energy distributions, each with a distinct origin and spatial distribution. This spectral decomposition provides a powerful technique for distinguishing overlapping emission from the circumstellar medium and the supernova ejecta, excited by the forward and reverse shocks, respectively.",

author = "Arendt, {Richard G.} and Boyer, {Martha L.} and Eli Dwek and Mikako Matsuura and Ravi, {Aravind P.} and Armin Rest and Roger Chevalier and Phil Cigan and {De Looze}, Ilse and {De Marchi}, Guido and Claes Fransson and Christa Gall and Gehrz, {R. D.} and Gomez, {Haley L.} and Tuomas Kangas and Florian Kirchschlager and Kirshner, {Robert P.} and Josefin Larsson and Peter Lundqvist and Dan Milisavljevic and Sangwook Park and Nathan Smith and Jason Spyromilio and Tea Temim and Lifan Wang and Wheeler, {J. Craig} and Woodward, {Charles E.}",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2023. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society.",

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doi = "10.3847/1538-4357/acfd95",

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T1 - JWST NIRCam Observations of SN 1987A

T2 - Spitzer Comparison and Spectral Decomposition

AU - Arendt, Richard G.

AU - Boyer, Martha L.

AU - Dwek, Eli

AU - Matsuura, Mikako

AU - Ravi, Aravind P.

AU - Rest, Armin

AU - Chevalier, Roger

AU - Cigan, Phil

AU - De Looze, Ilse

AU - De Marchi, Guido

AU - Fransson, Claes

AU - Gall, Christa

AU - Gehrz, R. D.

AU - Gomez, Haley L.

AU - Kangas, Tuomas

AU - Kirchschlager, Florian

AU - Kirshner, Robert P.

AU - Larsson, Josefin

AU - Lundqvist, Peter

AU - Milisavljevic, Dan

AU - Park, Sangwook

AU - Smith, Nathan

AU - Spyromilio, Jason

AU - Temim, Tea

AU - Wang, Lifan

AU - Wheeler, J. Craig

AU - Woodward, Charles E.

PY - 2023/12/1

Y1 - 2023/12/1

N2 - JWST Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam) observations at 1.5-4.5 μm have provided broadband and narrowband imaging of the evolving remnant of SN 1987A with unparalleled sensitivity and spatial resolution. Comparing with previous marginally spatially resolved Spitzer Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) observations from 2004 to 2019 confirms that the emission arises from the circumstellar equatorial ring (ER), and the current brightness at 3.6 and 4.5 μm was accurately predicted by extrapolation of the declining brightness tracked by IRAC. Despite the regular light curve, the NIRCam observations clearly reveal that much of this emission is from a newly developing outer portion of the ER. Spots in the outer ER tend to lie at position angles in between the well-known ER hotspots. We show that the bulk of the emission in the field can be represented by five standard spectral energy distributions, each with a distinct origin and spatial distribution. This spectral decomposition provides a powerful technique for distinguishing overlapping emission from the circumstellar medium and the supernova ejecta, excited by the forward and reverse shocks, respectively.

AB - JWST Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam) observations at 1.5-4.5 μm have provided broadband and narrowband imaging of the evolving remnant of SN 1987A with unparalleled sensitivity and spatial resolution. Comparing with previous marginally spatially resolved Spitzer Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) observations from 2004 to 2019 confirms that the emission arises from the circumstellar equatorial ring (ER), and the current brightness at 3.6 and 4.5 μm was accurately predicted by extrapolation of the declining brightness tracked by IRAC. Despite the regular light curve, the NIRCam observations clearly reveal that much of this emission is from a newly developing outer portion of the ER. Spots in the outer ER tend to lie at position angles in between the well-known ER hotspots. We show that the bulk of the emission in the field can be represented by five standard spectral energy distributions, each with a distinct origin and spatial distribution. This spectral decomposition provides a powerful technique for distinguishing overlapping emission from the circumstellar medium and the supernova ejecta, excited by the forward and reverse shocks, respectively.

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ER -

JWST NIRCam Observations of SN 1987A: Spitzer Comparison and Spectral Decomposition

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