Abstract:

We report on Monte-Carlo calculations of the emergence of X- and γ-rays from the envelope of the supernova 1987A. Assuming that there exists an X-ray emitting pulsar at the centre, we discuss the possibilities of observing its radiation and find that if the pulsar is about as luminous as the present-day Crab, it may be possible to detect the breakout at ~ 20 months. The pulsar should emerge first in the 6-16 keV band covered by GINGA. About six months later it would appear in the 20-45 keV band of MIR-HEXE. Because the optical depth of the envelope at breakout is still substantial (~4), we do not expect pulses to be detected straightaway. Our conclusions are based on a simple homogeneous model for the envelope and do not depend on whether or not ^56^Co is mixed into the outer layers. The time at which a pulsar of higher luminosity would emerge can be obtained from a simple scaling of our results.

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