Measuring dust production in the small magellanic cloud core-collapse supernova remnant 1E0102.2-7219

Abstract

We present mid-infrared spectral mapping observations of the core-collapse supernova remnant 1E0102.2-7219 in the Small Magellanic Cloud using the InfraRed Spectrograph on the Spitzer Space Telescope. The remnant shows emission from fine structure transitions of neon and oxygen as well as continuum emission from dust. Comparison of the mid-IR dust emission with observations at X-ray, radio, and optical wavelengths shows that the dust is associated with the supernova ejecta and is thus newly formed in the remnant. The spectrum of the newly formed dust is well reproduced by a model that includes 3 × 10-3 M of amorphous carbon dust at 70 K and 2 × 10-5 M of Mg 2SiO4 (forsterite) at 145 K. Our observations place a lower limit on the amount of dust in the remnant since we are not sensitive to the cold dust in the unshocked ejecta. We compare our results to observations of other core-collapse supernovae and remnants, particularly Cas A where very similar spectral mapping observations have been carried out. We observe a factor of 10 less dust in E0102 than seen in Cas A, although the amounts of amorphous carbon and forsterite are comparable. Finally, we present evidence suggesting that the grain size distribution of the newly formed dust in E 0102 has been altered by the hot plasma behind the reverse shock. © 2009. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved..