Radio Observations of the Supernova Remnant CTB109 (G109.2–1.0)

Extract

The supernova remnant G109.2–1.0 was discovered at λ49cm by Hughes, Harten and van den Bergh (1981) during a survey of part of the Galactic plane. The northern part of it had been detected previously as the non-thermal radio source CTB109 by Wilson and Bolton (1960), and by Raghava Roa et al (1965), but the extended low brightness of the source and its close proximity to the very strong source Cas A, from which it is separated by ∼5′, excluded it from any further detailed study. It was discovered independently at X-ray wavelengths by Gregory and Fahlman (1980). Recently, the original WSRT radio observations have been found to be in error as a result of applying the CLEAN procedure to an extended source, and since the object appears to contain an X-ray pulsar (Fahlman and Gregory, 1981), it was decided to carry out a more detailed and extensive mapping of the remmant using different antenna arrays and frequencies. This paper describes the results obtained at λ49cm and λ21cm using the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (WSRT), at λ21cm using the aperture synthesis array at the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory (DRAO) and at λ4.6cm using the 46m telescope of the Algonquin Radio Observatory (ARO). Thus, data has been obtained from three completely independent telescopes, using completely independent data reduction systems. Of importance is the fact that not only have wavelengths been chosen such that the larger dimensions of the array give a reasonable angular resolution of ≤1′, but also that the smallest spacing enables the larger angular dimensions of the remnant to be observed. This paper presents some of the results and a brief interpretation.