XMM-Newton detection of the supernova remnant G337.2+0.1

Abstract

We report the first XMM-Newton detection of the SNR candidate G337.2+0.1 (=AX J1635.9-4719). The object shows centrally filled and diffuse X-ray emission. The emission peaks in the hard 3.0-10.0 keV band. A spatially resolved spectral study confirms that the column density of the central part of the SNR is about NH~5.9(+/-1.5)×1022 cm-2 and its X-ray spectrum is well represented by a single power law with a photon index Γ=0.96+/-0.56. The nondetection of line emission in the central spectrum is consistent with synchrotron radiation from a population of relativistic electrons. Detailed spectral analysis indicates that the outer region is highly absorbed and quite softer than the inner region, with NH~16.2(+/-5.2)×1022 cm-2 and kT=4.4(+/-2.8) keV. Such characteristics are already observed in other X-ray plerions. On the basis of the morphological and spectral X-ray information, we confirm the SNR nature of G337.2+0.1 and suggest that the central region of the source is a pulsar wind nebula, originated by an energetic although yet undetected pulsar, that is currently losing energy at a rate of ~1036 ergs s-1.