Evidence for a shock-compressed magnetic field in the northwestern rim of Vela Jr. from X-ray polarimetry

¹ Fakultät für Physik und Astronomie, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Emil-Fischer-Str. 31, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
² Institute of Physics of Academia Sinica, No. 128, Section 2, Academia Road, Nangang District, Taipei City, Taiwan
³ Graduate Institute of Astronomy, National Central University, 300 Zhongda Road, Zhongli, Taoyuan 32001, Taiwan
⁴ Laboratory for Space Research, The University of Hong Kong, Cyberport 4, Hong Kong
⁵ INAF Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, Via del Fosso del Cavaliere 100, 00133 Roma, Italy
⁶ Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy & GRAPPA, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands
⁷ Center for Astrophysics, Harvard & Smithsonian, 60 Garden St, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
⁸ Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Pisa, Largo B. Pontecorvo 3, 56127 Pisa, Italy
⁹ School of Astronomy and Space Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, PR China
¹⁰ INAF Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri, Largo Enrico Fermi 5, 50125 Firenze, Italy
¹¹ Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Via Sansone 1, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (FI), Italy
¹² Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Firenze, Via Sansone 1, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (FI), Italy
¹³ NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL 35812, USA
¹⁴ Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Pisa, Largo B. Pontecorvo 3, 56127 Pisa, Italy
¹⁵ Institut für Astronomie und Astrophysik, Universität Tübingen, Sand 1, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
¹⁶ University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
¹⁷ Dipartimento di Fisica, Università degli Studi di Roma “Tor Vergata”, Via della Ricerca Scientifica 1, 00133 Roma, Italy
¹⁸ Dipartimento di Fisica, Università degli Studi di Roma “La Sapienza”, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Roma, Italy
¹⁹ Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, Observatoire Astronomique de Strasbourg, UMR 7550, 67000 Strasbourg, France
²⁰ Hiroshima Astrophysical Science Center, Hiroshima University, 1-3-1 Kagamiyama, Higashi-Hiroshima, Hiroshima 739-8526, Japan
²¹ Department of Physics, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong
²² Science and Technology Institute, Universities Space Research Association, Huntsville, AL 35805, USA
²³ RIKEN Cluster for Pioneering Research, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
²⁴ Guangxi Key Laboratory for Relativistic Astrophysics, School of Physical Science and Technology, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China
²⁵ Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía – CSIC, Glorieta de la Astronomía s/n, 18008 Granada, Spain
²⁶ INAF Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma, Via Frascati 33, 00040 Monte Porzio Catone (RM), Italy
²⁷ Space Science Data Center, Agenzia Spaziale Italiana, Via del Politecnico snc, 00133 Roma, Italy
²⁸ INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Cagliari, Via della Scienza 5, I-09047 Selargius, (CA), Italy
²⁹ Dipartimento di Matematica e Fisica, Università degli Studi Roma Tre, Via della Vasca Navale 84, 00146 Roma, Italy
³⁰ Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Torino, Via Pietro Giuria 1, 10125 Torino, Italy
³¹ Dipartimento di Fisica, Università degli Studi di Torino, Via Pietro Giuria 1, 10125 Torino, Italy
³² Agenzia Spaziale Italiana, Via del Politecnico snc, 00133 Roma, Italy
³³ Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Roma “Tor Vergata”, Via della Ricerca Scientifica 1, 00133 Roma, Italy
³⁴ Department of Physics and Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
³⁵ Astronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Boční II 1401/1, 14100 Praha 4, Czech Republic
³⁶ California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
³⁷ Yamagata University, 1-4-12 Kojirakawa-machi, Yamagata-shi 990-8560, Japan
³⁸ International Center for Hadron Astrophysics, Chiba University, Chiba 263-8522, Japan
³⁹ Institute for Astrophysical Research, Boston University, 725 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, USA
⁴⁰ Department of Astrophysics, St. Petersburg State University, Universitetsky pr. 28, Petrodvoretz, 198504 St. Petersburg, Russia
⁴¹ Department of Physics and Astronomy and Space Science Center, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH 03824, USA
⁴² Physics Department, McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences, and Center for Quantum Leaps, Washington University in St. Louis, St. 906 Louis, MO 63130, USA
⁴³ Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Napoli, Strada Comunale Cinthia, 80126 Napoli, Italy
⁴⁴ MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
⁴⁵ Graduate School of Science, Division of Particle and Astrophysical Science, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi 464-8602, Japan
⁴⁶ Department of Physics and Astronomy, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge LA 70803, USA
⁴⁷ Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16801, USA
⁴⁸ Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, IPAG, 38000 Grenoble, France
⁴⁹ Department of Physics and Astronomy, 20014 University of Turku, Finland
⁵⁰ INAF Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera, Via E. Bianchi 46, 23807 Merate (LC), Italy
⁵¹ Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università degli Studi di Padova, Via Marzolo 8, 35131 Padova, Italy
⁵² Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London, Holmbury St Mary, Dorking, Surrey RH5 6NT, UK

^⋆ Corresponding author; dmitry.prokhorov@uni-wuerzburg.de

Received: 30 August 2024
Accepted: 12 October 2024

Abstract

Synchrotron X-ray emission has been detected from nearly a dozen young supernova remnants (SNRs). X-rays of synchrotron origin exhibit linear polarization in a regular, non-randomly oriented magnetic field. The significant polarized X-ray emission from four such SNRs has already been reported on the basis of observations with the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE). The magnetic-field structure as derived from IXPE observations is radial for Cassiopeia A, Tycho’s SNR, and SN 1006, and tangential for RX J1713.7−3946. The latter together with the recent detection of a tangential magnetic field in SNR 1E 0102.2-7219 by the Australia Telescope Compact Array in the radio band shows that tangential magnetic fields can also be present in young SNRs. Thus, the dichotomy in polarization between young and middle-aged SNRs (radial magnetic fields in young SNRs, but tangential magnetic fields in middle-aged SNRs), previously noticed in the radio band, deserves additional attention. The present analysis of IXPE observations determines, for the first time, a magnetic-field structure in the northwestern rim of Vela Jr, also known as RX J0852.0−4622, and provides a new example of a young SNR with a tangential magnetic field.