High Resolution X-ray Imaging of Supernova Remnant 1987A

Abstract

We report observations of the remnant of Supernova 1987A with the High Resolution Camera (HRC) onboard the Chandra X-ray Observatory. A direct image from the HRC resolves the annular structure of the X-ray remnant, confirming the morphology previously inferred by deconvolution of lower resolution data from the Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer. Detailed spatial modeling shows that the a thin ring plus a thin shell gives statistically the best description of the overall remnant structure, and suggests an outer radius 0.96" +/- 0.05" +/- 0.03" for the X-ray-emitting region, with the two uncertainties corresponding to the statistical and systematic errors, respectively. This is very similar to the radius determined by a similar modeling technique for the radio shell at a comparable epoch, in contrast to previous claims that the remnant is 10-15% smaller at X-rays than in the radio band. The HRC observations put a flux limit of 0.010 cts/s (99% confidence level, 0.08-10 keV range) on any compact source at the remnant center. Assuming the same foreground neutral hydrogen column density as towards the remnant, this allows us to rule out an unobscured neutron star with surface temperature T^\infty > 2.5MK observed at infinity, a bright pulsar wind nebula or a magnetar.

6 pages, 3 figures, accepted by ApJL, some figures have been scaled down in resolution

References in corpus (13)

• The strongest cosmic magnets: Soft Gamma-ray Repeaters and Anomalous X-ray Pulsars
• Pulsar Wind Nebulae in the Chandra Era
• The Triple-Ring Nebula around SN1987A: Fingerprint of a binary merger
• Fitting Pulsar Wind Tori. II. Error Analysis and Applications
• Evolutionary Status of SNR 1987A at the Age of Eighteen
• X-ray Timing of PSR J1852+0040 in Kesteven 79: Evidence of Neutron Stars Weakly Magnetized at Birth
• Fourier Modeling of the Radio Torus Surrounding Supernova 1987A
• X-ray Evolution of SNR 1987A: The Radial Expansion
• High resolution 36 GHz imaging of the Supernova Remnant of SN1987A
• CCO Pulsars as Anti-Magnetars: Evidence of Neutron Stars Weakly Magnetized at Birth
• Searching for a Pulsar in SN1987A
• Fifteen Years of High-Resolution Radio Imaging of Supernova 1987A
• SN Shock Evolution in the Circumstellar Medium surrounding SN 1987A

Cited by in corpus (14)

• Supernova 1987A: a Template to Link Supernovae to their Remnants
• Abundances and density structure of the inner circumstellar ring around SN 1987A
• Chandra observations of SN 1987A: the soft X-ray light curve revisited
• Hypercritical Accretion onto a Newborn Neutron Star and Magnetic Field Submergence
• High-resolution radio observations of SNR 1987A at high frequencies
• The 30-Year Search for the Compact Object in SN 1987A
• Evolution of the Radio Remnant of Supernova 1987A: Morphological Changes from Day 7000
• Multi-dimensional simulations of the expanding supernova remnant of SN 1987A
• The Re-Acceleration of the Shock Wave in the Radio Remnant of SN 1987A
• Evolution of the Chandra CCD Spectra of SNR 1987A: Probing the Reflected-Shock Picture
• A New Evolutionary Phase of Supernova Remnant 1987A
• Can a bright and energetic X-ray pulsar be hiding amid the debris of SN 1987A?
• First VLBI Detection of the Radio Remnant of Supernova 1987A: Evidence for Small-scale Features
• X-ray Spectroscopy of the Highly Magnetized Pulsar PSR J1846-0258, its Wind Nebula and Hosting Supernova Remnant Kes 75