James Webb Space Telescope Feed Post

Hints of point-symmetric structures in SN 1987A: the jittering jets explosion mechanism

Upper panels: A JWST image of SN 1987A (Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, M. Matsuura (Cardiff University), R. Arendt (NASA’s Goddard Spaceflight Center & University of Maryland, Baltimore County), C. Fransson). Blue represents emission at 1.5 microns, cyan at 1.64 and 2.0 microns, yellow at 3.23 microns, orange at 4.05 microns (F405N), and red at 4.44 microns. Upper left: The arrows I added point at some regions on the outskirts of the blue-cyan structure that are brighter than their surroundings, i.e., clumps. Upper right: I added three lines that connect pairs of clumps as I marked in the upper left panel. The double-headed arrow marks the direction of the elongated axis of the blue-cyan zone. Red-dashed lines indicate possible jet-related structures. Lower left: An HST image of the post-AGB star IRAS 16594-4656 based on Hrivnak, Kwok, & Su (1999) and Hrivnak, Kwok, & Su (2001) where more details can be found. I added five red arrows to point at clumps. Each clump is at the tip of a lobe, suggesting it was shaped by a jet. Lower right: An HST image (F814W filter) from Hrivnak, Kwok, & Su (2001). I added three yellow lines to mark pairs of clumps. The center of each line is at the center of the white-plus sign (where the lines cross each other), showing that two clumps of a pair can be at different distances from the center. Abstract: I identify a point-symmetric structure composed of three pairs of clumps in the recently released JWST image of the ejecta of SN 1987A and argue that these pairs of clumps support the jittering jets explosion mechanism (JJEM) for SN 1987A. I compare this point-symmetric structure with the multipolar-lobe morphology of a post-asymptotic giant branch nebula. The three pairs of clumps in the post-AGB nebula are formed at the tip of jet-inflated lobes. I use this similarity to strengthen earlier claims that SN 1987A was exploded by jets in the frame of the JJEM.