Spitzer Space Telescope Detection of the Young Supernova Remnant 1E 0102.2-7219

Abstract

We present infrared observations of the young, oxygen-rich supernova remnant 1E 0102.2-7219 (E0102) in the Small Magellanic Cloud, obtained with the Spitzer Space Telescope. The remnant is detected at 24 μm but not at 8 or 70 μm and has a filled morphology with two prominent filaments. We find evidence for the existence of up to 8×10-4 Msolar of hot dust (Td~120 K) associated with the remnant. Most of the hot dust is located in the central region of E0102, which appears significantly enhanced in infrared and radio continuum emission relative to the X-ray emission. Even if all of the hot dust was formed in the explosion of E0102, the estimated mass of dust is at least 100 times lower than what is predicted by some recent theoretical models.