[70.01] The Near-Infrared Synchrotron Spectral Index of Cassiopeia A

AAS 205th Meeting, 9-13 January 2005
Session 70 Supernovae and Supernovae Remnants
Poster, Tuesday, January 11, 2005, 9:20am-6:30pm, Exhibit Hall

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[70.01] The Near-Infrared Synchrotron Spectral Index of Cassiopeia A

K.A. Eriksen (U. of Arizona/Steward Observatory), D.W. McCarthy (U. . of Arizona/Steward Observatory), W.M. Liu (U. of Arizona/Steward Observatory)

We report on our observations of diffuse near-infrared emission in the young supernova remnant Cassiopeia A with the PISCES infrared camera on the University of Arizona Bok 2.3 meter telescope. While previous K-band imaging (Gerardy and Fesen 2001) and polarimetry (Jones et al. 2003) confirms its synchrotron origin, our J and H detections allow us to measure the first near-infrared spectral index for this emission. We compare our results with radio, microwave, and X-ray observations, and discuss the implications for models of diffusive shock acceleration of cosmic rays.

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