A Near-Infrared and X-ray Study of W49B: A Wind Cavity Explosion

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dc.creatorKeohane, Jonathan W.
dc.creatorReach, William T.
dc.creatorRho, Jeonghee
dc.creatorJarrett, Thomas H.
dc.date2006-09-19
dc.date.accessioned2026-07-07T10:40:12Z
dc.date.available2026-07-07T10:40:12Z
dc.descriptionWe present near-infrared narrow-band images of the supernova remnant W49B, taken with the WIRC instrument on the Hale 200 inch telescope on Mt. Palomar. The 1.64 micron [Fe II] image reveals a barrel-shaped structure with coaxial rings, which is suggestive of bipolar wind structures surrounding massive stars. The 2.12 micron shocked molecular hydrogen image extends 1.9 pc outside of the [Fe II] emission to the southeast. We also present archival Chandra data, which show an X-ray jet-like structure along the axis of the [Fe II] barrel, and flaring at each end. Fitting single temperature X-ray emission models reveals: an enhancement of heavy elements, with particularly high abundances of hot Fe and Ni, and relatively metal-rich core and jet regions. We interpret these findings as evidence that W49B originated inside a wind-blown bubble (R ~ 5 pc) interior to a dense molecular cloud. This suggests that W49B's progenitor was a supermassive star, that could significantly shape its surrounding environment. We also suggest two interpretations for the jet morphology, abundance variations and molecular hydrogen emission: (1) the explosion may have been jet-driven and interacting with the molecular cavity (i.e. a Gamma-ray burst); or (2) the explosion could have been a traditional supernova, with the jet structure being the result of interactions between the shock and an enriched interstellar cloud.
dc.description9 pages with embedded figures Accepted by the Astrophysical Journal
dc.identifierhttps://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0609533
dc.identifierhttp://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0609533
dc.identifierAstrophys.J.654:938-944,2007
dc.identifierdoi:10.1086/509311
dc.identifier.urihttp://salesiana.dossiersoluciones.com/handle/123456789/181270
dc.subjectAstrophysics
dc.titleA Near-Infrared and X-ray Study of W49B: A Wind Cavity Explosion
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