MOLECULAR ENVIRONMENT AND THERMAL X-RAY SPECTROSCOPY OF THE SEMICIRCULAR YOUNG COMPOSITE SUPERNOVA REMNANT 3C 396
- Purple Mountain Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008 (China)
- Department of Astronomy, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093 (China)
- Astronomy Program, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-747 (Korea, Republic of)
- Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 70 Vassar Street, Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States)
We have investigated the molecular environment of the semicircular composite supernova remnant (SNR) 3C 396 and performed a Chandra spatially resolved thermal X-ray spectroscopic study of this young SNR. With our CO millimeter observations, we find that the molecular clouds (MCs) at V{sub LSR}{approx} 84 km s{sup -1} can better explain the multiwavelength properties of the remnant than the V{sub LSR} = 67-72 km s{sup -1} MCs that are suggested by Lee et al. At around 84 km s{sup -1}, the western boundary of the SNR is perfectly confined by the western molecular wall. The CO emission fades out from west to east, indicating that the eastern region is of low gas density. In particular, an intruding finger/pillar-like MC, which may be shocked at the tip, can well explain the X-ray and radio enhancement in the southwest and some infrared filaments there. The SNR-MC interaction is also favored by the relatively elevated {sup 12}CO J = 2-1/J = 1-0 line ratios in the southwestern 'pillar tip' and the molecular patch on the northwestern boundary. The redshifted {sup 12}CO (J = 1-0 and J = 2-1) wings (86-90 km s{sup -1}) of an eastern 81 km s{sup -1} molecular patch may be the kinematic evidence for shock-MC interaction. We suggest that the 69 km s{sup -1} MCs are in the foreground based on H I self-absorption while the 84 km s{sup -1} MCs at a distance of 6.2 kpc (the tangent point) are in physical contact with SNR 3C 396. The X-ray spectral analysis suggests an SNR age of {approx}3 kyr. The metal enrichment of the X-ray emitting gas in the north and south implies a 13-15 M{sub sun} B1-B2 progenitor star.
- OSTI ID:
- 21567597
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 727, Issue 1; Other Information: DOI: 10.1088/0004-637X/727/1/43; ISSN 0004-637X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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