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R. Sankrit, W.P. Blair (JHU), J.C. Raymond (CfA)
N49 is the brightest supernova remnant in the Large Magellanic Cloud at optical and UV wavelengths, and is also bright in the X-ray and radio passbands. The remnant is middle-aged and its emission is dominated by the interaction of the supernova blast wave with the surrounding interstellar medium. We present observations of N49 obtained with the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE). Spectra were obtained at three positions through the LWRS (30\arcsec\times 30\arcsec) aperture, where each pointing covered about a quarter of the remnant's projected surface area. C~III~\lambda977 and O~VI~\lambda\lambda1032,1038 lines are detected in all the spectra. The line profiles are a few hundred km/s wide and are impacted by self-absorption by material along the line of sight. The emission from both C~III and O~VI is strongest in the southeast region of the remnant where the blast wave is interacting with a molecular cloud. The C~III to O~VI ratio, which shows the relative importance of low ionization and high ionization gas is also the highest in the southeast. A comparison of the O~VI 1032Å\ and 1038Å\ line profiles shows the presence of a significant column of H2 at LMC velocities along the line of sight. The low H2 column depth towards a nearby star suggests that the molecular hydrogen is associated with the remnant or its immediate surroundings.
We acknowledge support for this work from NASA via grant NAG512017 to the Johns Hopkins University.
The author(s) of this abstract have provided an email address for comments about the abstract: ravi@pha.jhu.edu
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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 35 #3
© 2003. The American Astronomical Soceity.