Discovery of 20 UV-emitting SNRs in M31 with UVIT

Abstract

We present the first catalog of supernova remnants (SNRs) in M31 that exhibit diffuse ultraviolet (UV) emission. UV images of M31 were obtained by the Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (UVIT) on the AstroSat satellite, and the list of SNRs was obtained from X-ray, optical, and radio catalogs of SNRs in M31. We used the UVIT images to find SNRs with diffuse emission, omitting those too contaminated with stellar emission. A total of 20 SNRs in M31 were detected with diffuse UV emission. Fluxes in the UVIT F148W, F169M, F172M, N219M, and N279N filters are measured for these SNRs. The luminosities are compared to those computed from the spectra of seven known UV-emitting SNRs in the Milky Way, the Large Magellanic Cloud, and the Small Magellanic Cloud. We find similar spectral shapes between the known and the M31 UV-emitting SNRs. The spectral shapes and the diffuse nature of the emission are good evidence that the UV emissions are dominated by line emissions, like known SNRs, and the UV is associated with the SNRs. Models are applied to the six SNRs with X-ray spectra. The main difference is that the two X-ray/UV SNRs are Type Ia and the four X-ray/non-UV SNRs are core-collapse or unknown type. A comparison of M31 SNRs in different wave bands shows that most are detected optically, similar to the case for other nearby galaxies. A total of 19 of the 20 UV-emitting SNRs are detected optically, expected because both UV and optical are from forbidden and recombination lines from shock-ionized gas.