New infrared source detected in supernova remnant RCW 103
http://phys.org/news/2016-10-infrared-source-supernova-remnant-rcw.html
Canadian astronomers report the discovery of a previously unseen infrared source in supernova remnant RCW 103,
located some 10,000 light years away. According to a paper published Oct. 7 on arXiv.org, this newly detected
source could be associated with a bright X-ray source known as 2E 1613.5-5053 and classified as a central compact
object (CCO), that was discovered over 30 years ago.
RCW 103 is a 2,000-years-old supernova remnant in the constellation Norma that is bright at X-ray, radio, optical
and infrared wavelengths. In 1980, using the Einstein X-ray Observatory, astronomers spotted a mysterious bright
X-ray source, that was designated 2E 1613.5-5053. The nature of this source remained a puzzle for researchers for
nearly 30 years. In 2008, it was classified as a CCO.
On June 22, 2016, the Burst Alert Telescope onboard NASA's Swift satellite detected a millisecond-timescale magnetar-
like burst coming from 2E 1613.5-5053, and a team of astronomers led by Shriharsh Tendulkar of the McGill University
in Montreal, Canada, took the opportunity to investigate the mysterious object more closely.
They used the Hubble Space Telescope's (HST) Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) to conduct observations of 2E 1613.5-5053
on July 4 and Aug. 11. The team found a new source that was absent in the HST observations carried out in 2002.
"We observed 2E 1613.5-5053 with the Hubble Space Telescope (WFC3/IR) and we report here on the detection of
a previously unseen infrared counterpart. In observations taken on 2016 July 4 and August 11, we detect a new source
(mF110W - 26.3 AB mag and mF160W - 24.2 AB mag) at the Chandra position of 2E 1613.5-5053 which was not detected in
HST/NICMOS images from 2002 August 15 and October 8 to a depth of 24.5 AB mag (F110W) and 25.5 AB mag (F160W),"
the researchers wrote in the paper.
