The Nature of the Interstellar Medium around SN 1987A

Details The Nature of the Interstellar Medium around SN 1987A The Nature of the Interstellar Medium around SN 1987A

Jul 1993

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1993hst..prop.4481b&link_type=abstract

HST Proposal ID #4481

Computer Science

Hst Proposal Id #4481

Scientific paper

The extreme initial brightness of SN 1987A allowed the IUE and ground-based observatories to obtain an unsurpassed dataset for interstellar (IS) absorption lines for the LMC; it provided a unique opportunity to probe the IS environment of supernova. However, several unanswered questions remain. First, were the unusually strong C IV and Si IV features seen in the IUE spectrum formed in a UV flash of the supernova or did they pre-exist the explosion as the diffuse [O III] emission and 800 O stars in the vicinity suggest? Second, what is the origin of the strong optical [Fe X] absorption seen toward SN 1987A? In an effort to answer these questions, we will use the GHRS, in the G160M, G200M, and echelle-B modes to probe the directions toward two LMC stars, Sk -69 203 and Sk -69 209a, that lie within 50 pc of SN 1987A in the plane of the sky. These stars are uncontaminated by the UV flash or circumstellar nebula and likely share the same interstellar environment as SN 1987A. We will search for strong C IV (1548,1550A) in these stars to assess if the strong C IV predated SN 1987A. We will also observe high ionization N V (1238,1242A), which cannot be produced by normal stellar photoionization, to place constraints on the formation of [Fe X] and the distribution of hot coronal gas near SN 1987A. We will observe Zn II and Fe II to determine the depletion patterns in the 10-24 expected discrete components along the line-of-sight.

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