2001/10/23 by T. Morel, R. Doyon, N. St-Louis +1 · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #Astrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena #Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies #Emission spectrum #Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena #Galaxy #Luminosity #Luminous infrared galaxy #Metallicity #Radiative transfer #Supernova #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1046/j.1365-8711.2002.05026.x
published as Mon.Not.Roy.Astron.Soc. 329 (2002) 398 · 13 pages, 5 figures; accepted for publication in MNRAS
arxiv created 2001/10/23 · openalex publication_date 2002/01/01 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
In an effort better to calibrate the supernova rate of starburst galaxies as determined from near infrared [Feii] features, we report on a [Feii] λ1.644μm line imaging survey of a sample of 42 optically selected supernova remnants (SNRs) in M33. A wide range of [Feii] luminosities are observed within our sample (from less than 6 to 695L⊙). Our data suggest that the bright [Feii] SNRs are entering the radiative phase and that the density of the local interstellar medium (ISM) largely controls the amount of [Feii] emission. We derive the following relation between the [Feii] λ1.644μm line luminosity of radiative SNRs and the electronic density of the post shock gas, ne: L[Feii] (cm−3). We also find a correlation in our data between L[Feii] and the metallicity of the shock heated gas, but the physical interpretation of this result remains inconclusive, as our data also show a correlation between the metallicity and ne. The dramatically higher level of [Feii] emission from SNRs in the central regions of starburst galaxies is most likely due to their dense environments, although metallicity effects might also be important. The typical [Feii] emitting lifetime of a SNR in the central regions of starburst galaxies is found to be of the order of 104yr. On the basis of these results, we provide a new empirical relation allowing the determination of the current supernova rate of starburst galaxies from their integrated near infrared [Feii] luminosity.