Spectrum and Variability of the Supernova Remnant G21.5-0.9

Abstract

Measurements of the flux densities of the supernova remnant G21.5-0.9 at 4840 and 8450 MHz were performed in 2013–2018 on the 32-m telescope of the Svetloe Observatory of the Institute of Applied Astronomy, Russian Academy of Sciences. Multiple measurements revealed source variability. The flux densities of G21.5-0.9 for 1967–2010 from previously published data are used to compare the intensity of G21.5-0.9 and standard sources. An artificial-Moon flux scale is used to bring all the data into a single system and determine a refined spectrum. Analysis of the resulting data indicates that, first, the observed break in the source spectrum is not associated with energy losses of relativistic electrons due to synchrotron emission and, second, the source variability is manifest as flux-density changes described by one of two power-law dependencies for the flux versus frequency. The spectral indices of each of these dependencies have one of two constant values. Possible origins of the detected changes in the spectrum of G21.5-0.9 are discussed.