Chandra HETG Spectra of SN 1987A at 20 years

Abstract

We have undertaken deep, high-resolution observations of SN 1987A at ~20 years after its explosion with the Chandra HETG and LETG spectrometers. Here we present the HETG X-ray spectra of SN 1987A having unprecedented spectral resolution and signal-to-noise in the 6 A to 20 A bandpass, which includes the H-like and He-like lines of Si, Mg, Ne, as well as O VIII lines and bright Fe XVII lines. In joint analysis with LETG data, we find that there has been a significant decrease from 2004 to 2007 in the average temperature of the highest temperature component of the shocked-plasma emission. Model fitting of the profiles of individual HETG lines yields bulk kinematic velocities of the higher-Z ions, Mg and Si, that are significantly lower than those inferred from the LETG 2004 observations.

arXiv comment12 pages, 5 figures, 1 table; accepted for publication in ApJ Letters

References in corpus (9)

• The X-ray Spectrum of Supernova Remnant 1987A
• Evolutionary Status of SNR 1987A at the Age of Eighteen
• Chandra LETG Observations of Supernova Remnant 1987A
• XMM-Newton observations of SN1987A
• Chandra Observations of Shock Kinematics in Supernova Remnant 1987A
• X-ray Spectroscopy of the Contact Binary VW Cephei
• Chandra Observations of Supernova 1987A
• Dust-Gas Interaction in SNR 1987A
• X-ray Evolution of SN 1987A

Cited by in corpus (22)

• Supernova remnants: the X-ray perspective
• Thermal and non-thermal emission from circumstellar interaction
• Abundances and density structure of the inner circumstellar ring around SN 1987A
• Collisionless shock heating of heavy ions in SN 1987A
• High-Resolution X-ray Spectroscopy of SNR 1987A: Chandra LETG and HETG Observations in 2007
• Time evolution of the line emission from the inner circumstellar ring of SN 1987A and its hot spots
• X-ray Evolution of SNR 1987A: The Radial Expansion
• Wavelength Measurements of K Transitions of Oxygen, Neon, and Magnesium with X-ray Absorption Lines
• Evolution of the Chandra CCD Spectra of SNR 1987A: Probing the Reflected-Shock Picture
• High Resolution X-Ray Spectroscopy of SN 1987A: Monitoring with XMM-Newton
• XMM-Newton observations of SNR 1987A. II. The still increasing X-ray light curve and the properties of Fe K lines
• Thermal Emission and Radioactive Lines, but No Pulsar, in the Broadband X-Ray Spectrum of Supernova 1987A
• The Morphologies and Kinematics of Supernova Remnants
• A New Evolutionary Phase of Supernova Remnant 1987A
• Spectral Evolution of the X-Ray Remnant of SN 1987A: A High-Resolution $Chandra$ HETG Study
• X-ray ejecta kinematics of the Galactic core-collapse supernova remnant G292.0+1.8
• X-Ray and Gamma-Ray Emission From Core-collapse Supernovae: Comparison of Three-dimensional Neutrino-driven Explosions With SN 1987A
• High-cadence Dispersed Spectral Analysis of Supernova Remnant 1987A
• Latest Evolution of the X-Ray Remnant of SN 1987A: Beyond the Inner Ring
• The Exceptional X-ray Evolution of SN1996cr in High Resolution
• Kinematics of Supernova Remnants: Status of X-Ray Observations
• Massive stars as thermonuclear reactors and their explosions following core collapse