Searching for Overionized Plasma in the Gamma-ray-emitting Supernova Remnant G349.7+0.2

Abstract

G349.7+0.2 is a supernova remnant (SNR) expanding in a dense medium of molecular clouds and interacting with clumps of molecular material emitting gamma-rays. We analyzed the gamma-ray data of the Large Area Telescope on board the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope and detected G349.7+0.2 in the energy range of 0.2-300 GeV with a significance of ∼13σ, showing no extended morphology. Modeling of the gamma-ray spectrum revealed that the GeV gamma-ray emission dominantly originates from the decay of neutral pions, where the protons follow a broken power-law distribution with a spectral break at ∼12 GeV. To search for features of radiative recombination continua in the eastern and western regions of the remnant, we analyzed the Suzaku data of G349.7+0.2 and found no evidence for overionized plasma. In this paper, we discuss possible scenarios to explain the hadronic gamma-ray emission in G349.7+0.2 and the mixed morphology nature of this SNR.