Related papers: Cassiopeia A and its Clumpy Presupernova Wind
The distribution of elements produced in the inner-most layers of a supernova explosion is a key diagnostic for studying the collapse of massive stars. Here we present the results of a 2.4 Ms \textit{NuSTAR} observing campaign aimed at…
Progenitors of Type Ia supernovae (SNe) have been predicted to modify their ambient circumstellar (CSM) and interstellar environments through the action of their powerful winds. While there is X-ray and optical evidence for circumstellar…
We calculate particle spectra and continuum photon emission from the Cassiopeia A supernova remnant (SNR). The particle spectra, ion and electron, result from diffusive shock acceleration at the forward SNR shock and are determined with a…
Very recently the Chandra First Light Observation discovered a point-like source in Cassiopeia A (Cas A) supernova remnant. This detection was subsequently confirmed by the analyses of the archival data from both ROSAT and Einstein…
A comparison of X-ray observations of the Cassiopeia A supernova remnant taken in 2000, 2002, and 2004 with the Chandra ACIS-S3 reveals the presence of several small scale features (<= 10 arcsec) which exhibit significant intensity changes…
SN2011ht has been described both as a true supernova and as an impostor. In this paper, we conclude that it does not match some basic expectations for a core-collapse event. We discuss SN2011ht's spectral evolution from a hot dense wind to…
Galactic winds are associated with intense star formation and AGNs. Depending on their formation mechanism and velocity they may remove a significant fraction of gas from their host galaxies, thus suppressing star formation, enriching the…
The clumping of massive star winds is an established paradigm, which is confirmed by multiple lines of evidence and is supported by stellar wind theory. We use the results from time-dependent hydrodynamical models of the instability in the…
The inner parsec of our Galaxy contains tens of Wolf-Rayet stars whose powerful outflows are constantly interacting while filling the region with hot, diffuse plasma. Theoretical models have shown that, in some cases, the collision of…
Massive stars in binaries can give rise to extreme phenomena such as X-ray binaries and gravitational wave sources after one or both stars end their lives as core-collapse supernovae. Stars in close orbit around a stellar or compact…
Recently published Spitzer observations of the classical Cepheid archetype delta Cephei revealed an extended dusty nebula surrounding this star and its hot companion. The infrared emission resembles a bow shock aligned with the direction of…
Searching for the presence of circumstellar material is currently the only direct way to discriminate between the different types of possible progenitor systems for Type Ia supernovae. We have therefore looked for narrow H-alpha in a…
Mass loss from massive stars ($\ga 8 \msun$) can result in the formation of circumstellar wind blown cavities surrounding the star, bordered by a thin, dense, cold shell. When the star explodes as a core-collapse supernova (SN), the…
We present a model of the compact star in Cassiopea A that accounts for its unusually fast cooling behavior. This feature is interpreted as an enhancement in the neutrino emission triggered by a transition from a fully gapped, two-flavor,…
Observations of nearby molecular clouds detect "shells", which are likely caused by winds from young main sequence stars. However, the progenitors of these observed features are not well characterized and the mass-loss rates inferred from…
We model neutron star cooling, in particular the current rapid cooldown of the neutron star Cas A, with a microscopic nuclear equation of state featuring strong direct Urca processes and using compatible nuclear pairing gaps as well as…
The large quantities of dust that have been found in a number of high redshift galaxies have led to suggestions that core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe) are the main sources of their dust and have motivated the measurement of the dust masses…
We present a three-year series of observations at 24 microns with the Spitzer Space Telescope of the interstellar material in a 200 x 200 arcmin square area centered on Cassiopeia A. Interstellar dust heated by the outward light pulse from…
We present observations of the Type Ia supernova 2003du and report the detectionof an unusual, high-velocity component in the Ca II infrared triplet, similar tofeatures previously observed in SN 2000cx and SN 2001el. This feature exhibits a…
Further analysis of X-ray spectroscopy results recently obtained from the MOS CCD cameras on-board XMM-Newton provides a detailed description of the hot and cool X-ray emitting plasma in Cas A. Measurement of the Doppler broadening of the…