Intertwined birth and death: a Herbig-Haro outflow resolves the distance to Vela Junior

Janette Suherli; Ivo R. Seitenzahl; Samar Safi-Harb; Frédéric P. A. Vogt; Wynn C. G. Ho; Parviz Ghavamian; Chuan-Jui Li; Ashley J. Ruiter; Roland M. Crocker; Arpita Roy; Ralph Sutherland

arXiv · 2512.04956

Intertwined birth and death: a Herbig-Haro outflow resolves the distance to Vela Junior

Janette Suherli·Ivo R. Seitenzahl·Samar Safi-Harb·Frédéric P. A. Vogt·Wynn C. G. Ho·Parviz Ghavamian·Chuan-Jui Li·Ashley J. Ruiter·Roland M. Crocker·Arpita Roy·Ralph Sutherland

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Abstract

The distance to the Vela Junior supernova remnant (RX J0852.0-4622 or G266.2-1.2) has long remained uncertain, limiting our understanding of its physical properties. Using VLT/MUSE integral field spectroscopy, we uncover chemical and kinematic connections between the nebula surrounding its Central Compact Object (CXOU J085201.4-461753) and the nearby Herbig-Haro outflow of Ve 7-27 (Wray 16-30), indicating a shared nitrogen-rich, Fe-peak-enhanced environment. This link ties stellar birth and death, with the young star Ve 7-27 embedded in material expelled by Vela Junior's massive progenitor, and the remnant's blast wave is expanding through the same medium. Adopting the Gaia-based distance to Ve 7-27, we revise Vela Junior's distance to $1.41\pm0.14$ kpc. At this distance, the remnant's physical radius is $23.3\pm2.3$ pc, and X-ray proper motions of the northwestern rim correspond to shock speeds of $(2.8\pm0.7)\times10^3$ to $(5.6\pm1.5)\times10^3$ km s$^{-1}$. These imply an age of $\sim$1.6-3.3 kyr and a very low ambient density, indicating that Vela Junior is expanding within a highly rarefied wind-blown cavity carved by a massive progenitor -- consistent with the non-detection of strong thermal X-ray emission. This distance update also resolves long-standing inconsistencies, with major implications for its energy budget, particle acceleration efficiency, and compact object evolution.

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Janette Suherli, Ivo R. Seitenzahl, Samar Safi-Harb, Frédéric P. A. Vogt, Wynn C. G. Ho, Parviz Ghavamian, Chuan-Jui Li, Ashley J. Ruiter, Roland M. Crocker, Arpita Roy, Ralph Sutherland. 2025-12-04. Intertwined birth and death: a Herbig-Haro outflow resolves the distance to Vela Junior. https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.04956

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