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THREE-DIMENSIONAL DISTRIBUTION OF EJECTA IN SUPERNOVA 1987A AT 10,000 DAYS

Due to its proximity, SN. 1987A offers a unique opportunity to directly observe the geometry of a stellar explosion as it unfolds. Here we present spectral and imaging observations of SN. 1987A obtained similar to 10,000 days after the explosion with HST/STIS and VLT/SINFONI at optical and near-infrared wavelengths. These observations allow us to produce the most detailed 3D map of Ha to date, the first 3D maps for [Ca II] lambda lambda 7292, 7324, [O I] lambda lambda 6300, 6364, and Mg. II lambda lambda 9218, 9244, as well as new maps for [Si I]+[Fe II] 1.644 mu m and He I 2.058 mu m. A comparison with previous observations shows that the [Si I]+[Fe II] flux and morphology have not changed significantly during the past ten years, providing evidence that this line is powered by Ti-44. The time evolution of Ha shows that it is predominantly powered by X-rays from the ring, in agreement with previous findings. All lines that have sufficient signal show a similar large-scale 3D structure, with a north-south asymmetry that resembles a broken dipole. This structure correlates with early observations of asymmetries, showing that there is a global asymmetry that extends from the inner core to the outer envelope. On smaller scales, the two brightest lines, Ha and [Si I]+[Fe II] 1.644 mu m, show substructures at the level of similar to 200-1000 km s(-1) and clear differences in their 3D geometries. We discuss these results in the context of explosion models and the properties of dust in the ejecta.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:arizona.edu/oai:arizona.openrepository.com:10150/622678
Date13 December 2016
CreatorsLarsson, J., Fransson, C., Spyromilio, J., Leibundgut, B., Challis, P., Chevalier, R. A., France, K., Jerkstrand, A., Kirshner, R. P., Lundqvist, P., Matsuura, M., McCray, R., Smith, N., Sollerman, J., Garnavich, P., Heng, K., Lawrence, S., Mattila, S., Migotto, K., Sonneborn, G., Taddia, F., Wheeler, J. C.
ContributorsUniv Arizona, Steward Observ
PublisherIOP PUBLISHING LTD
Source SetsUniversity of Arizona
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeArticle
Rights© 2016. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.
Relationhttp://stacks.iop.org/0004-637X/833/i=2/a=147?key=crossref.a39dd0faad9b15e73d077805f736a4f6

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