Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ravi, Aravind P., Park, Sangwook, Zhekov, Svetozar A., Orlando, Salvatore, Miceli, Marco, Frank, Kari A., Broos, Patrick S., Burrows, David N.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2403.07990
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866910433008418816
author Ravi, Aravind P.
Park, Sangwook
Zhekov, Svetozar A.
Orlando, Salvatore
Miceli, Marco
Frank, Kari A.
Broos, Patrick S.
Burrows, David N.
author_facet Ravi, Aravind P.
Park, Sangwook
Zhekov, Svetozar A.
Orlando, Salvatore
Miceli, Marco
Frank, Kari A.
Broos, Patrick S.
Burrows, David N.
contents Based on our Chandra imaging-spectroscopic observations, we present the latest evolution of the X-ray remnant of SN 1987A. Recent changes in the electron temperatures and volume emission measures suggest that the blast wave in SN 1987A is moving out of the dense inner ring structure, also called the equatorial ring (ER). The 0.5-2.0 keV X-ray light curve shows a linearly declining trend (by $\sim$4.5 % yr$^{-1}$) between 2016 and 2020, as the blast wave heats the hitherto unknown circumstellar medium (CSM) outside the ER. While the peak X-ray emission in the latest 0.3-8.0 keV image is still within the ER, the radial expansion rate in the 3.0-8.0 keV images suggests an increasing contribution of the X-ray emission from less dense CSM since 2012, at least partly from beyond the ER. It is remarkable that, since 2020, the declining soft X-ray flux has stabilized around $\sim$7 $\times$ 10$^{-12}$ erg s$^{-1}$ cm$^{-2}$, which may signal a contribution from the reverse-shocked outer layers of ejecta as predicted by the 3-D magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) models. In the latest ACIS spectrum of supernova remnant (SNR) 1987A in 2022 we report a significant detection of the Fe K line at $\sim$6.7 keV, which may be due to changing thermal conditions of the X-ray emitting CSM and/or the onset of reverse shock interactions with the Fe-ejecta.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2403_07990
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Latest Evolution of the X-Ray Remnant of SN 1987A: Beyond the Inner Ring
Ravi, Aravind P.
Park, Sangwook
Zhekov, Svetozar A.
Orlando, Salvatore
Miceli, Marco
Frank, Kari A.
Broos, Patrick S.
Burrows, David N.
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
Based on our Chandra imaging-spectroscopic observations, we present the latest evolution of the X-ray remnant of SN 1987A. Recent changes in the electron temperatures and volume emission measures suggest that the blast wave in SN 1987A is moving out of the dense inner ring structure, also called the equatorial ring (ER). The 0.5-2.0 keV X-ray light curve shows a linearly declining trend (by $\sim$4.5 % yr$^{-1}$) between 2016 and 2020, as the blast wave heats the hitherto unknown circumstellar medium (CSM) outside the ER. While the peak X-ray emission in the latest 0.3-8.0 keV image is still within the ER, the radial expansion rate in the 3.0-8.0 keV images suggests an increasing contribution of the X-ray emission from less dense CSM since 2012, at least partly from beyond the ER. It is remarkable that, since 2020, the declining soft X-ray flux has stabilized around $\sim$7 $\times$ 10$^{-12}$ erg s$^{-1}$ cm$^{-2}$, which may signal a contribution from the reverse-shocked outer layers of ejecta as predicted by the 3-D magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) models. In the latest ACIS spectrum of supernova remnant (SNR) 1987A in 2022 we report a significant detection of the Fe K line at $\sim$6.7 keV, which may be due to changing thermal conditions of the X-ray emitting CSM and/or the onset of reverse shock interactions with the Fe-ejecta.
title Latest Evolution of the X-Ray Remnant of SN 1987A: Beyond the Inner Ring
topic High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2403.07990