Chandra Observations of SN 1987A

Kari A. Frank with David Burrows Penn State University

Image: HST 2006, C. Burrows, ESA/STScI and NASA

•  The first –  nearby SN in 400 years (in LMC)

–  observed with modern instruments •  extensively monitored in radio, IR, optical, UV, and X-ray

–  identification of progenitor •  Blue supergiant Sanduleak -69º202 in LMC

–  detection of extrasolar neutrinos (core-collapse)

•  First opportunity to study birth and early development of a SNR in detail

–  X-rays directly trace progress of blast wave

SN 1987A: Birth of a SNR

Chandra Monitoring

Date Age Grating

1999-10-06 4608 HETG

2000-01-17 4711 NONE

2000-12-07 5036 NONE

2001-04-25 5175 NONE

2001-12-12 5406 NONE

2002-05-15 5559 NONE

2002-12-31 5789 NONE

2003-07-08 5978 NONE

2004-01-02 6157 NONE

2004-07-22 6358 NONE

2005-01-09 6529 NONE

2005-07-11 6713 NONE

2006-01-28 6913 NONE

2006-07-27 7094 NONE

2007-01-19 7270 NONE

2007-07-13 7445 NONE

2008-01-09 7624 NONE

2008-07-01 7799 HETG

2009-01-18 8000 HETG

2010-03-28 8232 HETG

2010-09-28 8433 HETG

2011-03-25 8617 HETG

2011-09-21 8975 HETG

2012-03-28 9165 HETG

2013-03-21 9523 HETG

2013-09-28 9713 HETG

2014-03-19 9885 HETG

2014-09-20 10071 HETG

•  1999 – Now (day 4600 – 10000)

•  ~6 month intervals

•  29 Observations –  4 New

HII ρ ~ 100 cm-3

Equatorial Ring w/Clumps ρ ~ 10000 cm-3

t = 0 days

ΔR ≥ 0.12”

Physical Model

Dewey et al. 2012

Unshocked Ejecta

Unshocked HII

Equatorial Ring w/Clumps

Reverse Shock Contact

Discontinuity Forward Shock

t =1400 – 5700 days

Physical Model

HII

Ejecta

Shocked Plasma

Dewey et al. 2012

Contact Discontinuity

Unshocked Ejecta

Unshocked HII

Reverse Shock

Forward Shock

Equatorial Ring w/Clumps

t = 5700 days - ?

Physical Model

Dense ER

HII

Ejecta

Shocked Plasma

Dewey et al. 2012

Model Light Curve

Dewey et al. 2012

Morphological Evolution

Blast Wave Velocity

4000 5000 6000 7000 8000 9000 10000

SN1987A Age [days]

0.50

0.55

0.60

0.65

0.70

0.75

0.80

0.85

Rad

ius

[arc

sec]

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

Year

vearly = 9030 ± 1400 km/s vlate = 1960 ± 130 km/s Ring Impact = 5740 ± 110 days

Blast Wave Progression

4000 5000 6000 7000 8000 9000 10000

SN1987A Age [days]

0.50

0.55

0.60

0.65

0.70

0.75

0.80

0.85

Rad

ius

[arc

sec]

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

Year

ΔRX-ray ≥ 0.10” ± 0.02” (7.7 × 1011 km)

ΔRoptical ≥ 0.12” ± 0.02” (9.3 × 1011 km)

X-ray Light Curve

4000 5000 6000 7000 8000 9000 10000

SN1987A Age [days]

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Flux

[10�

13

erg

cm�

2s�

1]

ACIS (w/HETG)ACIS (no grating)EPIC-pn0.5-2.0 keV1.0-2.0 keV3.0-8.0 keV

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

Year

Conclusions

ΔRX-ray ≥ 0.10” ± 0.02” (7.7 × 1011 km)

•  Chandra provides excellent record

•  Blast wave leaving known ring? (but beware OBF contamination) •  Stay tuned for future exploration!

4000 5000 6000 7000 8000 9000 10000

SN1987A Age [days]

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Flux

[10�

13

erg

cm�

2s�

1]

ACIS (w/HETG)ACIS (no grating)EPIC-pn0.5-2.0 keV1.0-2.0 keV3.0-8.0 keV

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

Year

References

•  Dewey, D., Dwarkadas, V. V., Haberl, F., Sturm, R., &s, C. R. 2012, ApJ, 752, 103

•  Haberl, F., Geppert, U., Aschenbach, B., & Hasinger, G. 2006, A&A, 460, 811

•  Helder, E. A., Broos, P. S., Dewey, D., et al. 2013, ApJ, 764, 11

•  Racusin, J. L., Park, S., Zhekov, S., et al. 2009, ApJ, 703, 1752

•  O’Dell, S. L., Swartz, D. A., Tice, N. W., et al. 2013 Proc. SPIE, 2013, 8859, 88590F-88590F-12