Dense gas towards the RXJ1713.7–3946 supernova remnant

A summary of results from a 7 mm-wavelength survey towards the young X-ray and γ-ray-bright supernova remnant, RXJ1713.7–3946 (SNR G347.3–0.5) is presented. Using the Mopra telescope, the high critical density tracer CS(1–0) was targeted, complementing previous Nanten2 molecular gas studies of CO transitions. In hadronic γ-ray emission scenarios (p-p interactions), the mass of cosmic ray target material available is an important factor, so we estimate the mass of dense gas towards RX J1713.7–3946. Also of interest was the shock-tracing molecule, SiO. Although there was no evidence of SiO emission physically excited by the RXJ1713.7–3946 shock, a chance-discovery of vibrationallyexcited SiO(1–0) emission is likely to be a maser that is associated with an evolved star.