THE GALACTIC SUPERNOVA REMNANT W49B LIKELY ORIGINATES FROM A JET-DRIVEN, CORE-COLLAPSE EXPLOSION

Journal Article · Sun Feb 10 04:00:00 EST 2013 · Astrophysical Journal

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/764/1/50· OSTI ID:22167822

Lopez, Laura A.; Castro, Daniel ^[1]; Ramirez-Ruiz, Enrico ^[2]; Pearson, Sarah ^[3]

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1. MIT-Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, 37-664H, Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States)
2. Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California Santa Cruz, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95060 (United States)
3. DARK Cosmology Centre, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Juliane Maries vej 30, DK-2100 Copenhagen (Denmark)

We present results from a 220 ks observation of the Galactic supernova remnant (SNR) W49B using the Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer on board the Chanrda X-ray Observatory. We exploit these data to perform detailed spatially resolved spectroscopic analyses across the SNR with the aim to investigate the thermodynamic properties and explosive origin of W49B. We find substantial variation in the electron temperature and absorbing column toward W49B, and we show that the mean metal abundances are consistent with the predicted yields in models of bipolar/jet-driven core-collapse SNe. Furthermore, we set strict upper limits on the X-ray luminosity of any undetected point sources, and we exclude the presence of a neutron star associated with W49B. We conclude that the morphological, spectral, and environmental characteristics of W49B are indicative of a bipolar Type Ib/Ic SN origin, making it the first of its kind to be discovered in the Milky Way.

• OSTI ID: 22167822
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal, Journal Name: Astrophysical Journal Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 764; ISSN ASJOAB; ISSN 0004-637X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
ELECTRON TEMPERATURE
EXPLOSIONS
EXPLOSIVES
LUMINOSITY
MILKY WAY
NEUTRON STARS
POINT SOURCES
SUPERNOVA REMNANTS
SUPERNOVAE
THERMODYNAMIC PROPERTIES
VARIATIONS
X RADIATION