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ASCA observations of the Large Magellanic Cloud supernova remnant sample: Typing supernovae from their remnantsWe present our first results from a study of the supernova remnants (SNRs) in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) using data from ASCA. The three remnants we have analyzed to date, 0509-67.5, 0519-69.0, and N103B, are among the smallest, and presumably also the youngest, in the Cloud. The X-ray spectra of these SNRs show strong K alpha emission lines of silicon, sulfur, argon, and calcium with no evidence for corresponding lines of oxygen, neon, or magnesium. The dominant feature in the spectra is a broad blend of emission lines around 1 keV which we attribute to L-shell emission lines of iron. Model calculations (Nomoto, Thielemann, & Yokoi 1984) show that the major products of nucleosynthesis in Type Ia supernovae (SNs) are the elements from silicon to iron, as observed here. The calculated nucleosynthetic yields from Type Ib and II SNs are shown to be qualitatively inconsistent with the data. We conclude that the SNs which produced these remnants were of Type Ia. This finding also confirms earlier suggestions that the class of Balmer-dominated remnants arise from Type Ia SN explosions. Based on these early results from the LMC SNR sample, we find that roughly one-half of the SNRs produced in the LMC within the last approximately 1500 yr came from Type Ia SNs.
Document ID
19950054417
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
External Source(s)
Authors
Hughes, John P.
(Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, MA United States)
Hayashi, Ichizo
(Kyoto University Kyoto, Japan)
Helfand, David
(Columbia University New York, NY, United States)
Hwang, Una
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Itoh, Masayuki
(Institute for Space and Astronautical Science Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan)
Kirshner, Robert
(Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, MA United States)
Koyama, Katsuji
(Kyoto University Kyoto, Japan)
Markert, Thomas
(MIT, Cambridge, MA United States)
Tsunemi, Hiroshi
(Osaka University Toyonaka, Osaka, Japan)
Woo, Jonathan
(MIT, Cambridge, MA United States)
Date Acquired
August 16, 2013
Publication Date
May 10, 1995
Publication Information
Publication: Astrophysical Journal, Part 2 - Letters
Volume: 444
Issue: 2
ISSN: 0004-637X
Subject Category
Astronomy
Accession Number
95A86016
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAG5-2684
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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