An Imaging and Spectroscopic Study of the Supernova Remnant RCW 103 (G332.4-0.4) with the CHANDRA X-ray Observatory

• Main Author: Braun, Chelsea
• Other Authors: Safi-Harb, Samar (Physics and Astronomy)
• Published: 2016
• Subjects: Astrophysics; Supernova remnants; RCW 103
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1993/31185

The explosion of a massive star results in an immense expulsion of energy and stellar debris (ejecta) that are heated to extremely high temperatures forming what is known as a super va remnant (SNR). Presented is a CHANDRA 0.5-10 keV X-ray study of the SNR RCW 103, a bright SNR that contains the unusual compact object 1E 161348-5055. This study is the first dedicated and complete imaging and spatially resolved spectroscopic study of the SNR aimed at addressing the intrinsic properties of the SNR, including the explosion energy, ambient density, age, and distance. The SNR's X-ray spectrum is dominated by thermal X-ray emission, requiring globally two components with temperatures at ~0.6 keV and ~0.27 keV and di fferent ionization timescales and abundances. We identify clumpy regions of enhanced abundances suggesting the presence of ejecta. The SNR age is estimated at 1.0-3.7 kyr at a distance of 3.1 kpc. === May 2016