Performing a stellar autopsy using the radio-bright remnant of SN 1996cr

Abstract

We present archival radio observations of SN1996cr from ATCA and MOST, and model its radio lightcurves using X-ray constrained hydrodynamical simulations of the interaction between the SN ejecta and the CSM. The early radio data show signs of free-free absorption (FFA), which decreases gradually and is minimal above 1.4 GHz after day ~3000. FFA optical depth constraints provide estimates of the CSM free electron density, which allows insight into the ionisation of SN1996cr's CSM and offers a test on the density distribution adopted by the hydrodynamical simulation. The intrinsic spectral index of the radiation shows evidence for spectral flattening, which is characterised by alpha = 0.852 +/- 0.002 at day 3000 and a decay rate of d_alpha = -0.014 +/- 0.001 yr^-1. The similarity in the spectral flattening of SN1987A, SN1993J, and SN1996cr suggests this may be a relatively common feature of SNe/CSM shocks. We adopt this spectral index variation to model the synchrotron radio emission of the shock, and consider several scalings that relate the parameters of the hydrodynamical simulation to the magnetic field and electron distribution. The simulated light curves match the large-scale features of the observed light curves, but fail to match certain tightly constraining sections. This suggests that simple energy density scalings may not be able to account for the complexities of the true physical processes at work, or alternatively, that the parameters of the simulation require modification in order to accurately represent SN1996cr's CSM.