William

The nearly face-on spiral galaxy M83 (d=4.6 Mpc) provides a significant opportunity for finding and studying a large and diverse sample of SNRs all at the same distance, given its active star formation, a starburst nuclear region, and at least six SNe since 1923. As the result of a concerted effort involving ground and spaced-based studies at radio (ATCA), optical and NIR (Magellan 6.5m and HST), and X-ray (Chandra) wavelengths, we have identified almost 300 SNRs in M83. Of these, at least 87 and 47 were detected in the X-ray and radio bands. Some 227 of the SNR candidates are within the regions observed in [Fe II] 1.64 microns with HST WFC3/IR, and we detect ~100 of them, including ~8 in dusty regions where the [Fe II] emission was the primary means of identification. Follow-up ground-based spectroscopy of 99 of the 300 SNRs with Gemini-S and the GMOS instrument shows that essentially all of the SNRs identified in ground-based imaging have the [S II]:Ha ratios expected of bona fide SNRs, and that most of the SNRs in the sample are “normal ISM-dominated” SNRs, in the sense that the line widths are narrow and the spectra look like radiative shocks.

We have studied a number of interesting individual SNRs and historical SNe counterparts, as well as investigating the ensemble population of nearly 300 SNRs to better understand their properties as a group, their evolution, and their impact on their host galaxy. Of particular interest is a set of the smallest diameter (and hence presumably youngest) objects measured with HST, where the 0.04” WFC3-UVIS pixels correspond to ~1 pc. One SNR has very broad emission lines and given its small size, was most likely a SN that occurred during the last century but was missed. A number of the other objects are comparable to the Crab Nebula or Cas A in size, but very few show the high velocities and spectral signatures of ejecta. Rather, their spectra show low velocities and “normal” ISM-dominated emissions, albeit often with high densities. We attribute this surprising result to the high pressure ISM in M83 (implied by strong soft but diffuse X-ray emission seen with Chandra) in addition to the generally high chemical abundances in M83. We are also assessing the stellar populations and star formation histories near many of the young SNRs to constrain the local main sequence turnoff masses and thus the precursor star masses for the SNe that created the remnants we see.

WPB acknowledges support from NASA grants HST GO-12513-01-A and HST-GO-13361.001-A, both to Johns Hopkins University.