Radio observations of SNR environments

ESTELA MARTA REYNOSO

Ensenada, Baja California, México

Conferencia; Circumstellar Media and Late Stages of Massive Stellar Evolution; 2006

Most supernova remnants (SNRs) in our Galaxy are expected to be close to their parent molecular clouds. The interaction between SNRs and interstellar clouds not only alter the morphology and evolution of a SNR but also heat, compress, disrupt or modify the chemistry of the cloud. The turbulence generated in molecular clouds can trigger star formation. Radio emission from atomic and molecular lines toward SNRs provide unvaluable information to describe the ambient in which a SNR is evolving and determine possible sites of SNR-interstellar cloud interaction. The detection of OH masers in the satellite line at 1720 MHz can set strong constraints in the characteristics of the shocked ambient medium as well as on the dynamics of the SNR shock front. In this article I review some relevant results derived from radio observations in different spectral lines and under a variety of conditions towards SNRs and their environments.