High-Resolution X-ray imaging and spectroscopy of N 103B

Free access article

Issue		A&A Volume 392, Number 3, September IV 2002


Page(s)		955 - 962
Section		Formation, structure and evolution of stars
DOI		http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361:20020963

A&A 392, 955-962 (2002)
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361:20020963

High-Resolution X-ray imaging and spectroscopy of N 103B

K. J. van der Heyden¹, E. Behar², J. Vink^{2, 3}, A. P. Rasmussen², J. S. Kaastra¹, J. A. M. Bleeker¹, S. M. Kahn² and R. Mewe¹

¹ SRON National Institute for Space Research, Sorbonnelaan 2, 3584 CA Utrecht, The Netherlands
² Columbia Astrophysics Laboratory, Columbia University, 550 West 120th Street, New York, NY 10027, USA
³ Chandra fellow
e-mail: behar@astro.columbia.edu; jvink@astro.columbia.edu; arasmus@astro.columbia.edu; J.S.Kaastra@sron.nl; J.A.M.Bleeker@sron.nl; skahn@astro.columbia.edu; R.Mewe@sron.nl

(Received 11 March 2002 / Accepted 26 June 2002)

Abstract
The X-ray emission from the young supernova remnant (SNR) N 103B is measured and analysed using the high-resolution cameras and spectrometers on board XMM-Newton and Chandra. The spectrum from the entire remnant is reproduced very well with three plasma components of $kT_{\rm e} = 0.55$ , 0.65, and 3.5 keV, corresponding roughly to line emission by the O-K, Fe-L, and Fe-K species, respectively. Narrow band images reveal different morphologies for each component. The $kT_{\rm e} = 0.65$ keV component, which dominates the emission measure ( $4.5\times10^{65}$ m ^-3), is in ionisation equilibrium. This provides a lower limit of 1200 yrs to the age of the remnant, which is in agreement with the previously assumed age of the remnant (1500 yrs). Based on the measured energy of the Fe-K feature at 6.5 keV, the hot (3.5 keV) component is found to be recently shocked (~200 yrs) and still ionising. The high elemental abundances of O and Ne and the low abundance of Fe could imply that N 103B originated from a type II supernova (SN) rather than a type Ia SN as previously thought.

Key words: ISM: supernova remnants -- ISM: individual: N103B

Offprint request: K. J. van der Heyden, K.J.van.der.Heyden@sron.nl

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