2002ApJ...565..966P

This paper is the second in a series devoted to examining the multiwavelength properties of supernova remnants (SNRs) located in nearby galaxies. We consider here the resident SNRs in the nearby Sculptor group Sd galaxy NGC 7793. Using our own Very Large Array (VLA) radio observations at 6 and 20 cm, as well as archived ROSAT X-ray data, previously published optical results, and our own Hα image, we have searched for X-ray and radio counterparts to previously known optically identified SNRs and for new previously unidentified SNRs at these two wavelength regimes. Consistent with our prior results for NGC 300, only a tiny minority of the optically identified SNRs have been found at another wavelength. The most noteworthy source in our study is N7793-S26, which is the only SNR in this galaxy that is detected at all three wavelengths (X-ray, optical, and radio). It features a long (∼450 pc) filamentary morphology that is clearly seen in both the optical and the radio images. N7793-S26's radio luminosity exceeds that of the Galactic SNR Cas A, and based on equipartition calculations we determine that an energy of at least 10⁵² ergs is required to maintain this source. Such a result argues for the source being created by multiple supernova explosions rather than by a single supernova event. A second optically identified SNR, N7793-S11, has detectable radio emission but no detectable X-ray emission. A radio-selected sample of candidate SNRs has also been prepared by searching for coincidences between nonthermal radio sources and regions of Hα emission in this galaxy. This search has produced five new candidate radio SNRs to be added to the 28 SNRs that have already been detected by optical methods. A complementary search for new candidate X-ray SNRs has also been conducted by searching for soft-spectrum sources (kT<1 keV) that are coincident with regions of Hα emission. That search has yielded a candidate X-ray SNR that is coincident with one (and possibly two) of the candidate radio SNRs, but considerable diffuse X-ray emission throughout the disk of NGC 7793 reduces the efficacy of the search. Like NGC 300, very little overlap in identifications is seen between the SNRs found through X-ray, optical, and radio methods, and such a result argues for the role played by distance-dependent selection effects in determining the detectability of SNRs. In addition, we find that the density of the ambient interstellar medium (ISM) surrounding SNRs significantly impacts the spectral characteristics of the SNRs in this galaxy, consistent with surveys of the SNR populations in other galaxies.