Chandra LETG Observations of Supernova Remnant 1987A
Abstract
We discuss the results from deep Chandra LETG observations of the supernova remnant 1987A (SNR 1987A). We find that a distribution of shocks, spanning the same range of velocities (from 300 to 1700 km/s) as deduced in the first part of our analysis (Zhekov et al. 2005, ApJL, 628, L127), can account for the entire X-ray spectrum of this object. The post-shock temperature distribution is bimodal, peaking at kT 0.5 and 3 keV. Abundances inferred from the X-ray spectrum have values similar to those for the inner circumstellar ring, except that the abundances of nitrogen and oxygen are approximately a factor of two lower than those inferred from the optical/UV spectrum. The velocity of the X-ray emitting plasma has decreased since 1999, apparently because the blast wave has entered the main body of the inner circumstellar ring.
Cite
@article{arxiv.astro-ph/0603305,
title = {Chandra LETG Observations of Supernova Remnant 1987A},
author = {Svetozar A. Zhekov and Richard McCray and Kazimierz J. Borkowski and David N. Burrows and Sangwook Park},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:astro-ph/0603305},
year = {2009}
}
Comments
Accepted for publication in the ApJ