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.

arXiv commentAccepted for publication in the ApJ

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• Abundances and density structure of the inner circumstellar ring around SN 1987A
• Infrared and X-Ray Evidence for Circumstellar Grain Destruction by the Blast Wave of Supernova 1987A
• High-Resolution X-ray Spectroscopy of SNR 1987A: Chandra LETG and HETG Observations in 2007
• Chandra observations of SN 1987A: the soft X-ray light curve revisited
• Time evolution of the line emission from the inner circumstellar ring of SN 1987A and its hot spots
• Evolutionary Status of SNR 1987A at the Age of Eighteen
• X-Rays From Massive OB Stars: Thermal Emission From Radiative Shocks
• HST-COS Observations of Hydrogen, Helium, Carbon and Nitrogen Emission from the SN 1987A Reverse Shock
• X-ray Evolution of SNR 1987A: The Radial Expansion
• Chandra HETG Spectra of SN 1987A at 20 years
• Evolution of the Chandra CCD Spectra of SNR 1987A: Probing the Reflected-Shock Picture
• Modeling the X-ray emission of SN 1993J
• High Resolution X-Ray Spectroscopy of SN 1987A: Monitoring with XMM-Newton
• The First Decade of Science with Chandra and XMM-Newton
• XMM-Newton observations of SNR 1987A. II. The still increasing X-ray light curve and the properties of Fe K lines
• 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
• A New Evolutionary Phase of Supernova Remnant 1987A
• Spectral Evolution of the X-Ray Remnant of SN 1987A: A High-Resolution $Chandra$ HETG Study
• Can a bright and energetic X-ray pulsar be hiding amid the debris of SN 1987A?
• The Post-impact Evolution of the X-ray Emitting Gas in SNR 1987A Viewed by XMM-Newton
• SN 1987A : Tracing the flux decline and spectral evolution through a comparison of SRG/eROSITA and XMM-Newton observations
• High-cadence Dispersed Spectral Analysis of Supernova Remnant 1987A
• Latest Evolution of the X-Ray Remnant of SN 1987A: Beyond the Inner Ring
• Mapping High-velocity H-alpha and Lyman-alpha Emission from Supernova 1987A
• The Exceptional X-ray Evolution of SN1996cr in High Resolution
• First Detection of X-Ray Line Emission from Type IIn Supernova 1978K with XMM-Newton's RGS
• A Silver Anniversary Observation of the X-ray Emitting SN1978K in NGC 1313
• Unusual X-ray Oxygen Line Ratios of SN 1987A Arising From the Absorption of Galactic Hot Interstellar Medium
• Massive stars as thermonuclear reactors and their explosions following core collapse