Abstract Three leading models have been put forth to justify the observed radio re-brightening associated with stripped-envelope supernovae (SESNe) years post-explosion: radiation from an emerging pulsar wind nebula (PWN), shock interaction with a dense circumstellar medium (CSM), or emission from off-axis, relativistic jets. SN 2012au is a particularly intriguing SESN in this regard, as observations obtained ≳6 yr post-explosion have shown both (i) optical emission features consistent with a young PWN and (ii) a radio re-brightening. We present the results of our very long baseline interferometric (VLBI) observations of SN 2012au performed between 8 and 13 yr post core-collapse. Our VLBI observations reveal a luminous, steadily fading radio source that remains compact (≤1.4 × 10 17 cm) and stationary (≤0.36 c ) over the course of our campaign. Overall, we find that our VLBI measurements can be readily explained by a ∼decade-old PWN, potentially explained by shock interaction with specific CSM geometries, and are unlikely to be explained by emission from an off-axis, relativistic jet. Assuming a PWN origin, our observations require that the initial spindown luminosity of the central pulsar be between 1 0 36 erg s − 1 ≤ E ̇ 0 ≤ 4 × 10 42 erg s − 1 and radio efficiency factor be η R ≥ 3 × 10 −7 (both quoted at the 99.7% confidence interval). These results are consistent with independent inferences obtained using optical spectroscopy of SN 2012au, alongside inferences of known Galactic systems. If a PWN origin is confirmed, SN 2012au would represent the first extragalactic PWN emerging from a modern-day SN, providing a novel opportunity to study the formation properties of a decade-old pulsar.
Building similarity graph...
Analyzing shared references across papers
Loading...
Mattias Lazda
Kenzie Nimmo
Maria R. Drout
The Astrophysical Journal
SHILAP Revista de lepidopterología
Building similarity graph...
Analyzing shared references across papers
Loading...
Lazda et al. (Mon,) studied this question.
www.synapsesocial.com/papers/69d892d16c1944d70ce0417a — DOI: https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ae517f