High resolution spectroscopy of the line emission from the inner circumstellar ring of SN 1987A and its hot spots

Details High resolution spectroscopy of the line emission from the inner circumstellar ring of SN 1987A and its hot spots High resolution spectroscopy of the line emission from the inner circumstellar ring of SN 1987A and its hot spots

2007-03-30

arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0703788v2

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astrophysics

19 pages, 13 figures, submitted to A&A, minor typographical changes and figure updates

Scientific paper

We discuss high resolution VLT/UVES observations (FWHM ~ 6 km/s) from October 2002 (day ~5700 past explosion) of the shock interaction of SN 1987A and its circumstellar ring. A nebular analysis of the narrow lines from the unshocked gas indicates gas densities of (1.5-5.0)E3 cm-3 and temperatures of 6.5E3-2.4E4 K. This is consistent with the thermal widths of the lines. From the shocked component we observe a large range of ionization stages from neutral lines to [Fe XIV]. From a nebular analysis we find that the density in the low ionization region is 4E6-1E7 cm-3. There is a clear difference in the high velocity extension of the low ionization lines and that of lines from [Fe X-XIV], with the latter extending up to ~ -390 km/s in the blue wing for [Fe XIV], while the low ionization lines extend to typically ~ -260 km/s. For H-alpha a faint extension up to ~ -450 km/s can be seen probably arising from a small fraction of shocked high density clumps. We discuss these observations in the context of radiative shock models, which are qualitatively consistent with the observations. A fraction of the high ionization lines may originate in gas which has yet not had time to cool down, explaining the difference in width between the low and high ionization lines. The maximum shock velocities seen in the optical lines are ~ 510 km/s. We expect the maximum width of especially the low ionization lines to increase with time.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

No associations

Rating

High resolution spectroscopy of the line emission from the inner circumstellar ring of SN 1987A and its hot spots does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with High resolution spectroscopy of the line emission from the inner circumstellar ring of SN 1987A and its hot spots, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and High resolution spectroscopy of the line emission from the inner circumstellar ring of SN 1987A and its hot spots will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-650148