Observations of Supernova Remnants with ISO

Abstract

Pointed observations with ISO have been made, or are planned, towards 58 supernova remnants (SNRs) in the galaxy and Magellanic clouds. The main emphasis is on detailed studies of gas, dust and synchrotron emission from selected regions within 24 well studied galactic remants. First results are available for Cas A (Lagage et al. 1996, 1997; Tuffs et al. 1997; Unger et al. 1997), the Cygnus Loop (deCourchelle et al 1997; Fischera et al. 1997), RCW103 (Oliva et al. 1997; Wright et al. 1997), and W44 and 3C391 (Reach and Rho 1996). These are providing insights into issues such as the yield and composition of condensates in supernova ejecta, the processing of grains by adiabatic and radiative shocks, and the measurement of cold gas, inaccessible to optical observations, both from cool regions in radiative shocks and from unshocked ejecta. In this progress report these points are illustrated with reference to Cas A, the prototype of an ejecta-dominated remnant of a massive core-collapse supernova, and the Cygnus Loop and RCW103 as prime examples of radiative shocks delineating the interaction of fast blast waves with diffuse atomic and dense molecular clouds, respectively.