The 30-Year Search for the Compact Object in SN 1987A

Understand

Despite more than 30 years of searches, the compact object in Supernova (SN) 1987A has not yet been detected.

• We present new limits on the compact object in SN 1987A using millimeter, near-infrared, optical, ultraviolet, and X-ray observations from ALMA, VLT, HST, and Chandra.
• The limits are approximately 0.1 mJy ($0.1\times 10^{-26}$ erg s$^{-1}$ cm$^{-2}$ Hz$^{-1}$) at 213 GHz, 1 Lsun ($6\times 10^{-29}$ erg s$^{-1}$ cm$^{-2}$ Hz$^{-1}$) in optical if our line-of-sight is free of ejecta dust, and $10^{36}$ erg s$^{-1}$ ($2\times 10^{-30}$ erg s$^{-1}$ cm$^{-2}$ Hz$^{-1}$) in 2-10 keV X-rays.
• Our X-ray limits are an order of magnitude less constraining than previous limits because we use a more realistic ejecta absorption model based on three-dimensional neutrino-driven SN explosion models (presented in an accompanying article).