Carbon Monoxide in the Cassiopeia a Supernova Remnant

Creators: Rho, J.; Jarrett, T. H.; Reach, W. T.; Gomez, H.; Andersen, M.

Abstract

We report the likely detection of near-infrared 2.29 μm first overtone carbon monoxide (CO) emission from the young supernova (SN) remnant Cassiopeia A (Cas A). The continuum-subtracted CO filter map reveals CO knots within the ejecta-rich reverse shock. We compare the first overtone CO emission with that found in the well studied supernova SN 1987A and find ~30 times less CO in Cas A. The presence of CO suggests that molecule mixing is small in the SN ejecta and that astrochemical processes and molecule formation may continue at least ~ 300 yr after the initial explosion.

Additional Information

© 2009. The American Astronomical Society. Received 2008 October 8; accepted 2009 January 14; published 2009 February 16. We are grateful to Achim Tappe who participated in the Palomar observing run, and thank Takashi Onaka for fruitful discussion on dust and CO formation. We also thank Palomar Observatory staff (Jean Mueller, Jeff Hickey, and Karl Dunscombe) for assistance during our observing runs.We thank the anonymous referee for careful reading and helpful comments. H. Gomez would like to thank Las Cumbres Observatory for its support. M. Andersen is partially supported byNASA through LTSA grant NRA-01-01-LTSA-013. Based on observations obtained at the Hale Telescope, Palomar Observatory, as part of a continuing collaboration between the California Institute of Technology, NASA/JPL, and Cornell University.

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