Chandra X-Ray Imaging and Spatially Resolved Spectroscopy of SN 1987A: Energy-Dependent Morphology of the Equatorial Ring

Avatar
Poster
Voice is AI-generated
Connected to paperThis paper is a preprint and has not been certified by peer review

Chandra X-Ray Imaging and Spatially Resolved Spectroscopy of SN 1987A: Energy-Dependent Morphology of the Equatorial Ring

Authors

Yusuke Sakai, Shinya Yamada, Koji Mori, Hiromasa Suzuki, Haruka Sakemi, Tsukasa Matsushima, Shintaro Kaneko, Kai Matsunaga, Shogo B. Kobayashi, Haruto Aoki, Toshiki Sato

Abstract

We present a systematic imaging and spatially resolved spectral study of SN 1987A using Chandra observations obtained between 1999 and 2025. By combining multiepoch ACIS and HETG data, we investigate the long-term evolution of the remnant in both the soft and hard X-ray bands. To characterize the radial structure, we model the projected emission with a torus profile and derive its radius and width on the image plane. We find an energy dependence in the ring morphology: while the soft and hard bands exhibit similar structures at early epochs, the soft-band emission becomes systematically broader than the hard-band emission after the early 2010s. Furthermore, when considering the radius and width together, the soft-band emission shows an inward extension, suggesting an increasing contribution from interior and/or high-latitude emission components. The flux evolution of the Fe K line is consistent with previous XMM-Newton results, and we detect its presence already in earlier epochs (~2007-2009) using combined Chandra spectra. Spatially resolved analysis further indicates that the Fe K emission is enhanced in the eastern region. These results provide a unified view of the long-term morphological and spectral evolution of SN 1987A and highlight the emergence of energy-dependent radial structure as a key feature in its late-time evolution.

Follow Us on

0 comments

Add comment