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A kinematic and proper-motion survey of the Cygnus LoopH-alpha radial velocities, line widths, and line intensities based on 71 Fabry-Perot interferometer scans of 61 fields in the Cygnus Loop supernova remnant SNR are reported. Also, measurements of proper motions at 39 locations within the Cygnus Loop are summarized. These results show that the remnant is expanding asymmetrically into the ambient interstellar medium, with rest-frame velocities as high as 380 km/s in the near half and 150 km/s in the far half. This can plausibly be interpreted as the result of the progenitor's evolution near a density discontinuity, the consequent formation of a cavity and partial shell, and the SN's interaction with that shell. The remnant's optically observed filamentary structure results from line-of-sight effects as shock waves advance into the irregular inner surface of the shell. In this context, the derived expansion velocities and proper motions give a formal distance to the Cygnus Loop of roughly 600 pc, with 1-sigma limits of 300 and 1200 pc.
Document ID
19920035424
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
External Source(s)
Authors
Shull, Peter, Jr.
(Oklahoma State University Stillwater, United States)
Hippelein, Hans
(Max-Planck-Institut fuer Astronomie Heidelberg, Federal Republic of Germany, United States)
Date Acquired
August 15, 2013
Publication Date
December 20, 1991
Publication Information
Publication: Astrophysical Journal, Part 1
Volume: 383
ISSN: 0004-637X
Subject Category
Astronomy
Accession Number
92A18048
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NSF AST-83-15940
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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