The interstellar light echoes around SN 1987A

Abstract

The observed light echoes around SN 1987A are modeled by dust in planar clouds roughly 120 and 330 pc in front of the supernova. The expected echo profiles depend on the observed light curve and on the cloud thicknesses. The surface brightness and colors of the echoes are modeled using a mix of silicate and graphite grains appropriate to the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). The model colors approximately agree with the observed ones. The observed surface brightness suggests that the dust column density in the echo clouds is comparable to the total dust column density in the LMC toward SN 1987A. The model predicts the presence of a narrow ultraviolet echo outside the visual echo; it should be detectable with future ultraviolet observatories and will give information on the supernova near the phase of shock breakout.