1996A&A...315L.277R

The brightness of the [OI] 63µm line was measured for the supernova remnants W44 and 3C391 with the ISO Long-Wavelength Spectrometer. Bright lines, ∼0.3-1.4x10^–3erg/cm²/sr, were detected in the 20 positions observed toward both remnants. The lines are brightest at the edges of the remnants, but they are also bright towards the remnant interior. Continuum emission from collisionally-heated dust is detected, and the dust temperature is 50K for 3C391. Comparison to theoretical models that predict the [OI] line brightness suggests pre-shock densities >10³cm^–3 and ram pressures of order 10^–7 dyne/cm², as might occur for a supernova blast wave interacting with a molecular cloud.