2026ApJ...998..172S

Query : 2026ApJ...998..172S

2026ApJ...998..172S - Astrophys. J., 998, 172 (2026/February-2)

Magnetic-field Order in the Southwestern Rim of RCW 86 Constrained Using X-Ray Polarimetry.

SILVESTRI S., PROKHOROV D., VINK J., SLANE P., YANG Y.-J., BUCCIANTINI N., FERRAZZOLI R., ZHOU P., COSTA E., OMODEI N., NG C.-Y., SOFFITTA P., WEISSKOPF M.C., BALDINI L., DI MARCO A., DOROSHENKO V., HEYL J., KAARET P., MARIN F., MIZUNO T., PESCE-ROLLINS M., SGRO C., SWARTZ D.A., TAMAGAWA T., XIE F., AGUDO I., ANTONELLI L.A., BACHETTI M., BAUMGARTNER W.H., BELLAZZINI R., BIANCHI S., BONGIORNO S.D., BONINO R., BREZ A., CAPITANIO F., CASTELLANO S., CAVAZZUTI E., CHEN C.-T., CIPRINI S., DE ROSA A., DEL MONTE E., DI GESU L., DI LALLA N., DONNARUMMA I., DOVCIAK M., EHLERT S.R., ENOTO T., EVANGELISTA Y., FABIANI S., GARCIA J.A., GUNJI S., HAYASHIDA K., IWAKIRI W., JORSTAD S.G., KARAS V., KISLAT F., KITAGUCHI T., KOLODZIEJCZAK J.J., KRAWCZYNSKI H., LA MONACA F., LATRONICO L., LIODAKIS I., MALDERA S., MANFREDA A., MARINUCCI A., MARSCHER A.P., MARSHALL H.L., MASSARO F., MATT G., MITSUISHI I., MULERI F., NEGRO M., O'DELL S.L., OPPEDISANO C., PAPITTO A., PAVLOV G.G., PEIRSON A.L., PERRI M., PETRUCCI P.-O., PILIA M., POSSENTI A., POUTANEN J., PUCCETTI S., RAMSEY B.D., RANKIN J., RATHEESH A., ROBERTS O.J., ROMANI R.W., SPANDRE G., TAVECCHIO F., TAVERNA R., TAWARA Y., TENNANT A.F., THOMAS N.E., TOMBESI F., TROIS A., TSYGANKOV S.S., TUROLLA R., WU K. and ZANE S.

Abstract (from CDS):

RCW 86 is a supernova remnant whose origin has recently been linked to an off-center explosion within a cavity created by its progenitor star. In the southwestern region, the forward shock is thought to have reached the cavity wall, encountering diverse environmental conditions. We report on the spatially resolved X-ray polarimetric observation of RCW 86 with the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE). In the 2-4.5 keV energy band we find no significant detection of polarization. Employing a dedicated background subtraction procedure and Bayesian spectropolarimetric fitting, we derive 99% upper limits on the polarization degree of the synchrotron component: 15% in higher-statistics regions and 30%-40% in lower-statistics regions. These upper limits on the polarization degree in several regions exclude the possibility of a strongly coherent magnetic field down to the subparsec scale, and that of a moderately coherent one on the scale of the synchrotron features as resolved by IXPE. The results indicate that the shocks in the southwestern rim of RCW 86 propagate more slowly than the unshocked ejecta at their locations, yet exceed the measured proper motion speeds. This behavior is consistent with reflected shocks occurring in tenuous regions of the shocked ejecta, distinct from regions that are radio-bright.

Abstract Copyright: © 2026. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society.

Journal keyword(s): Polarimetry - Spectropolarimetry - Supernova remnants - Shocks - X-ray astronomy

Simbad objects: 8

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Number of rows : 8
N Identifier Otype ICRS (J2000)
RA 		ICRS (J2000)
DEC 		Mag U Mag B Mag V Mag R Mag I Sp type #ref
1850 - 2026 		#notes
1 SN 1572A SN* 00 25 21.5 +64 08 27           B8 1254 1
2 SNR G130.7+03.1 SNR 02 05 35.73 +64 49 41.3           ~ 661 4
3 NAME Vela Jr SN SNR 08 52.0 -46 20           ~ 507 2
4 ESO 134-11 HII 14 40 29 -62 38.7           ~ 585 1
5 SNR G315.0-02.3 SNR 14 43 00 -62 30.0           ~ 376 1
6 NAME Lupus SN SNR 15 02 22.1 -42 05 49           ~ 1407 1
7 SNR G347.3-00.5 SNR 17 12 27 -39 41.2     12.27     ~ 761 1
8 NAME Cas A SNR 23 23 26.0 +58 48 41     14.30     ~ 3033 1

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