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K.A. Flanagan, C.R. Canizares, D.S. Davis, J.C. Houck, G.E. Allen, D. Dewey, M.L. Schattenburg, N.S. Schulz (MIT)
High resolution X-ray spectra of two supernova remnants have been obtained with the High Energy Transmission Grating (HETG) Spectrometer aboard the Chandra X-Ray Observatory. One of these remnants, E0102-72, is a ~1000 year old, oxygen rich supernova remnant in the Small Magellanic Cloud. The HETG disperses the image of this remnant into a spectrum of images in the light of individual X-ray emission lines of highly ionized elements, enabling analysis of spatially distinct regions of the remnant. Doppler shifts in the strongest lines of oxygen and neon reveal bulk motions of order 1000 km/sec with a complex morphology.
Comparison of progressive ionization stages of magnesium, neon, oxygen and silicon combined with plasma diagnostics from individual X-ray lines allow us to model the "reverse shock" that heats the stellar ejecta.
A recent HETG observation of the young supernova remnant N132D in the Large Magellanic Cloud shows a complex spatial structure and a more challenging spectrum. We discuss initial results of our analysis.
This work is supported under NASA contract NAS8-38249.
The author(s) of this abstract have provided an email address for comments about the abstract: kaf@space.mit.edu