Monitoring the Evolution of the X-ray Remnant of SN 1987A

Abstract

We report on the results of our monitoring program of the remnant of SN 1987A with the Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer (ACIS) on board the {\it Chandra X-ray Observatory}. Two new observations have been performed in AO2, bringing the total to four monitoring observations over the past two years. Over this time period, new techniques for correction of ``Charge Transfer Inefficiency (CTI)'' and for use of charge spreading to provide angular resolution somewhat better than the pixel size of the CCD detector have become available at Penn State. We have processed all four observations using sub-pixel resolution to obtain the highest possible angular resolution, and using our CTI correction software to provide more reliable spectral analysis and flux estimations. The high angular resolution images indicate that the X-ray bright knots are convincingly correlated with the optical spots, primarily at $\la$1 keV, while higher energy photons are very well correlated with radio images. Our data also provide marginal evidence for radial expansion of the X-ray remnant at a rate of 5200 $\pm$ 2100 km s${}^{-1}$. The X-ray flux appears to linearly increase by $\sim$60% over the 18 month period of these observations. The spectrum is dominated by broad complexes of atomic emission lines and can be fit with a simple model of a plane-parallel shock with electron temperatures of $kT$ $\sim$ 2 $-$ 4 keV and a postshock electron density of $n_e$ $\sim$ 210 $-$ 420 cm${}^{-3}$. The implied 0.5 $-$ 10 keV band luminosity in 2001 April is $\sim$1.3 $\times$ 10${}^{35}$ ergs s${}^{-1}$; as of that date, we still observe no direct evidence for the central point source, with an upper limit on the {\it observed} luminosity of $L_X$ $\sim$ 5.5 $\times$ 10${}^{33}$ ergs s${}^{-1}$ in the 2 $-$ 10 keV band.

29 pages, 5 figures (2 color images), Accepted for ApJ

References in corpus (3)

• The Chandra Deep Field North Survey. V. 1 Ms Source Catalogs
• The Chandra Deep Field North Survey. VI. The Nature of the Optically Faint X-ray Source Population
• Improvement of the Spatial Resolution of the ACIS Using Split Pixel Events

Cited by in corpus (46)

• Chandra X-ray Observations of the Spiral Galaxy M81
• SN 1987A After 18 Years: Mid-Infrared GEMINI and SPITZER Observations of the Remnant
• Supernova 1987A: a Template to Link Supernovae to their Remnants
• Chandra Observes the End of an Era SN 1987A
• Thermal and Non-thermal X-Rays from the LMC Super Bubble 30 Dor C
• Balmer-Dominated Shocks Revisited
• Modelling the Hubble Space Telescope Ultraviolet and Optical Spectrum of Spot 1 on the Circumstellar Ring of SN 1987A
• The X-ray Spectrum of Supernova Remnant 1987A
• A Chandra View of The Morphological And Spectral Evolution of Supernova Remnant 1987A
• Evolution and Geometry of Hot Spots in Supernova Remnant 1987A
• The morphology of the ejecta in Supernova 1987A: a study over time and wavelength
• High-Resolution X-ray Spectroscopy of SNR 1987A: Chandra LETG and HETG Observations in 2007
• Supernova Remnant 1987A: Opening the Future by Reaching the Past
• CH Cyg X-ray Jet Activity and Multi-component Structures
• Evolutionary Status of SNR 1987A at the Age of Eighteen
• Chandra LETG Observations of Supernova Remnant 1987A
• Fourier Modeling of the Radio Torus Surrounding Supernova 1987A
• X-ray Evolution of SNR 1987A: The Radial Expansion
• The 30-Year Search for the Compact Object in SN 1987A
• High Resolution mid-Infrared Imaging of SN 1987A
• Refining Chandra/ACIS Subpixel Event Repositioning Using a Backside Illuminated CCD Model
• XMM-Newton observations of SN1987A
• Evolution of the Chandra CCD Spectra of SNR 1987A: Probing the Reflected-Shock Picture
• A Precessing Jet in the CH Cyg Symbiotic System
• Imaging of the Radio Remnant of SN 1987A at 12 mm Wavelength
• Probing Elemental Abundances in SNR 1987A Using XMM-Newton
• Thermal Emission and Radioactive Lines, but No Pulsar, in the Broadband X-Ray Spectrum of Supernova 1987A
• Radio sources in the Chandra Galactic Bulge survey
• The remnant of Supernova 1987A resolved at 3 mm wavelength
• A New Evolutionary Phase of Supernova Remnant 1987A
• Low Radio Frequency Observations and Spectral Modelling of the Remnant of Supernova 1987A
• Infrared emission towards 11 years after outburst: Properties of the circumstellar dust
• The Post-impact Evolution of the X-ray Emitting Gas in SNR 1987A Viewed by XMM-Newton
• Spectral Evolution of the X-Ray Remnant of SN 1987A: A High-Resolution $Chandra$ HETG Study
• Twenty Years of Galactic Observations in Searching for Bursts of Collapse Neutrinos with the Baksan Underground Scintillation Telescope
• Chandra Observations of WR147 Reveal a Double X-ray Source
• Latest Evolution of the X-Ray Remnant of SN 1987A: Beyond the Inner Ring
• High-cadence Dispersed Spectral Analysis of Supernova Remnant 1987A
• Supernova Remnant 1987A: The Latest Report from the Chandra X-Ray Observatory
• Chandra Observations of SNR 1987A
• XMM-Newton Observations of the Field of Gamma-Ray Burst 980425
• Search for TeV gamma-rays from SN 1987A in 2001
• X-ray triple rings around the M87 jets in the central Virgo cluster
• The missing compact star of SN1987A: a solid quark star?
• Unusual X-ray Oxygen Line Ratios of SN 1987A Arising From the Absorption of Galactic Hot Interstellar Medium
• SNR G292.0+1.8: A Remnant of a Low-Mass Progenitor Stripped-Envelope Supernova