Year: 2020
Type: article
Abstract: The possible detection of a compact object in the remnant of SN 1987A presents an unprecedented opportunity to follow its early evolution. The suspected detection stems from an excess of infrared emission from a dust blob near the compact object’s predicted position. The infrared excess could be due to the decay of isotopes like 44 Ti, accretion luminosity from a neutron star or black hole, magnetospheric emission or a wind originating from the spin down of a pulsar, or to thermal emission from an embedded, cooling neutron star (NS 1987A). It is shown that the last possibility is the most plausible as the other explanations are disfavored by other observations and/or require fine-tuning of parameters. Not only are there indications that the dust blob overlaps the predicted location of a kicked compact remnant, but its excess luminosity also matches the expected thermal power of a 30 yr old neutron star. Furthermore, models of cooling neutron stars within the minimal cooling paradigm readily fit both NS 1987A and Cas A, the next-youngest known neutron star. If correct, a long heat transport timescale in the crust and a large effective stellar temperature are favored, implying relatively limited crustal n- 1 S 0 superfluidity and an envelope with a thick layer of light elements, respectively. If the locations do not overlap, then pulsar spin down or accretion might be more likely, but the pulsar’s period and magnetic field or the accretion rate must be rather finely tuned. In this case, NS 1987A may have enhanced cooling and/or a heavy-element envelope.
Source: The Astrophysical Journal
Authors: Dany Page, Mikhail V. Beznogov, Iván Garibay, James M. Lattimer, Madappa Prakash, Hans-Thomas Janka
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
Awards: G222768804, G3278628223, G3326637625, THEORETICAL AND COMPUTATIONAL STUDIES IN INTERMEDIATE ENERGYNUCLEAR PHYSICS, G4027238776, G4066435496, G4090823411, EXC 2094: ORIGINS: Vom Ursprung des Universums bis zu den ersten Bausteinen des Lebens, G4586388898, RESEARCH IN NUCLEAR ASTROPHYSICS: STELLAR COLLAPSE AND SUPERNOVAE, G487710405, G5867279376
OpenAlex ID: W3015633154