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

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https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/acfd95

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https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/acfd95
 http://hdl.handle.net/11603/30147

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UMBC Center for Space Sciences and Technology (CSST) / Center for Research and Exploration in Space Sciences & Technology II (CRSST II)
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https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8403-8548

Date

2023-12-11

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journal articles
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Citation of Original Publication

Arendt, Richard G., Martha L. Boyer, Eli Dwek, Mikako Matsuura, Aravind P. Ravi, Armin Rest, Roger Chevalier, et al. “JWST NIRCam Observations of SN 1987A: Spitzer Comparison and Spectral Decomposition.” The Astrophysical Journal 959, no. 2 (December 2023): 95. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/acfd95.

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This work was written as part of one of the author's official duties as an Employee of the United States Government and is therefore a work of the United States Government. In accordance with 17 U.S.C. 105, no copyright protection is available for such works under U.S. Law.
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Abstract

JWST NIRCam observations at 1.5-4.5 μm have provided broad and narrow band imaging of the evolving remnant of SN 1987A with unparalleled sensitivity and spatial resolution. Comparing with previous marginally spatially resolved Spitzer IRAC observations from 2004-2019 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 5 standard spectral energy distributions (SEDs), each with a distinct origin and spatial distribution. This spectral decomposition provides a powerful technique for distinguishing overlapping emission from the circumstellar medium (CSM) and the supernova (SN) ejecta, excited by the forward and reverse shocks respectively.