Radio and X-ray images of the SNR G18.8+0.3 interacting with molecular clouds

Abstract

New HI images from the VLA Galactic Plane Survey (VGPS) show clear absorption features associated with the supernova remnant (SNR) G18.8+0.3. High-resolution 13CO images reveal that molecular clouds overlap the radio filaments of G18.8+0.3. The 13CO emission spectrum over the full velocity range in the direction of G18.8+0.3 shows two molecular components with high brightness-temperature and three molecular components with low brightness-temperature, all with respective HI absorption. This implies that these clouds are in front of G18.8+0.3. In the HI images, the highest velocity absorption feature seen against the continuum image of G18.8+0.3 is at 129 kms-1, which corresponds to the tangent point in this direction. This yields a lower distance limit of 6.9 kpc for G18.8+0.3. Absence of absorption at negative velocities gives an upper distance limit of 15 kpc. The broadened profile at 20 ± 5 km s-1 in the 13CO emission spectra is a strong indicator of a possible SNR/CO cloud interaction. Thus, G18.8+0.3 is likely to be at the distance of about 12 kpc. The upper mass limit and mean density of the giant CO cloud at 20 ± 5 km s-1 are ∼6 × 105 M⊙ and ∼2×102 cm-3. We find an atomic hydrogen column density in front of G18.8+0.3 of NHI ∼ 2 × 1022 cm-2. The ROSAT PSPC observations show a diffuse X-ray enhancement apparently associated with part of the radio shell of G18.8+0.3. Assuming an association, the unabsorbed flux is 2.2 × 10-12 erg cm-2s -1, suggesting an intrinsic luminosity of 3.6 × 1034 erg s-1 for G18.8+0.3. © ESO 2007.