Issue |
A&A
Volume 522, November 2010
|
|
---|---|---|
Article Number | A50 | |
Number of page(s) | 8 | |
Section | Galactic structure, stellar clusters and populations | |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/200913735 | |
Published online | 01 November 2010 |
An X-ray study of the SNR G344.7-0.1 and the central object CXOU J170357.8-414302
1
Instituto Argentino de Radioastronomía (CCT La Plata
CONICET), C.C.5, (1894) Villa
Elisa, Buenos
Aires, Argentina
e-mail: [jcombi;romero]@fcaglp.unlp.edu.ar
2 Centro Universitario Regional Zona
Atlántica (CURZA). Universidad Nacional del COMAHUE, Monseñor Esandi y Ayacucho (8500),
Viedma (Rio Negro),
Argentina
e-mail: donfaca@gmail.com
3
Departamento de Astrofísica y Ciencias de la Atmósfera,
Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040
Madrid,
Spain
e-mail: jls@astrax.fis.ucm.es
4
Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas, Universidad
Nacional de La Plata, Paseo del
Bosque, B1900
FWA La Plata,
Argentina
5
Departamento de Física (EPS), Universidad de Jaén,
Campus Las Lagunillas s/n, A3,
23071
Jaén,
Spain
e-mail: [esayaso;jmarti;ajmunoz;jrssutil]@ujaen.es
6
Departamento de Ingeniería Mecánica y Minera, Escuela Politécnica
Superior, Universidad de Jaén, Campus Las Lagunillas s/n, A3, 23071
Jaén,
Spain
e-mail: peter@ujaen.es
Received:
24
November
2009
Accepted:
1
July
2010
Aims. We report results of an X-ray study of the supernova remnant (SNR) G344.7-0.1 and the point-like X-ray source located at the geometrical center of the SNR radio structure.
Methods. The morphology and spectral properties of the remnant and the central X-ray point-like source were studied using data from the XMM-Newton and Chandra satellites. Archival radio data and infrared Spitzer observations at 8 and 24 μm were used to compare and study its multi-band properties at different wavelengths.
Results. The XMM-Newton and Chandra observations reveal that the overall X-ray emission of G344.7-0.1 is extended and correlates very well with regions of bright radio and infrared emission. The X-ray spectrum is dominated by prominent atomic emission lines. These characteristics suggest that the X-ray emission originated in a thin thermal plasma, whose radiation is represented well by a plane-parallel shock plasma model (PSHOCK). Our study favors the scenario in which G344.7-0.1 is a 6 × 103 year old SNR expanding in a medium with a high density gradient and is most likely encountering a molecular cloud on the western side. In addition, we report the discovery of a soft point-like X-ray source located at the geometrical center of the radio SNR structure. The object presents some characteristics of the so-called compact central objects (CCO). However, its neutral hydrogen absorption column (NH) is inconsistent with that of the SNR. Coincident with the position of the source, we found infrared and optical objects with typical early-K star characteristics. The X-ray source may be a foreground star or the CCO associated with the SNR. If this latter possibility were confirmed, the point-like source would be the farthest CCO detected so far and the eighth member of the new population of isolated and weakly magnetized neutron stars.
Key words: ISM: individual objects: G344.7-0.1 / ISM: supernova remnants / X-rays: individuals: CXOU J170357.8-414302 / radiation mechanisms: thermal
© ESO, 2010
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