A Critical Examination of Hypernova Remnant Candidates in M101. II. NGC 5471B

Abstract

NGC 5471B has been suggested to contain a hypernova remnant because of its extraordinarily bright X-ray emission. To assess its true nature, we have obtained high-resolution images in continuum bands and nebular lines with the Hubble Space Telescope, and high-dispersion long-slit spectra with the Kitt Peak National Observatory 4-m echelle spectrograph. The images reveal three supernova remnant (SNR) candidates in the giant HII region NGC 5471, with the brightest one being the 77x60 pc shell in NGC 5471B. The Ha velocity profile of NGC 5471B can be decomposed into a narrow component (FWHM = 41 km/s) from the background HII region and a broad component (FWHM = 148 km/s) from the SNR shell. Using the brightness ratio of the broad to narrow components and the Ha flux measured from the WFPC2 Ha image, we derive an Ha luminosity of (1.4+-0.1)x10^39 ergs/s for the SNR shell. The [SII]6716,6731 doublet ratio of the broad velocity component is used to derive an electron density of ~700 cm^-3 in the SNR shell. The mass of the SNR shell is thus 4600+-500 Mo. With a \~330 km/s expansion velocity implied by the extreme velocity extent of the broad component, the kinetic energy of the SNR shell is determined to be 5x10^51 ergs. This requires an explosion energy greater than 10^52 ergs, which can be provided by one hypernova or multiple supernovae. Comparing to SNRs in nearby active star formation regions, the SNR shell in NGC 5471B appears truly unique and energetic. We conclude that the optical observations support the existence of a hypernova remnant in NGC 5471B.