Chandra ACIS Survey of M33: The SNR Population
Abstract
The Chandra ACIS Survey of M33 (ChASeM33) is a large program to survey the inner re-gions of the M33 galaxy. The survey consists of 7 different fields observed for 200 ks (each field observed twice for 100 ks), covering 70the key projects of the ChASeM33 project is to characterize the SNR population in M33. We have detected 82 of 137 optically-identified SNRs and SNR candidates with a limiting X-ray luminosity of 2.0e34 ergs/s (0.35-2.0 keV), yielding confirmation of (or at least strongly supporting) their SNR identifications. This represents the largest sample of remnants detected at optical and X-ray wavelengths in any galaxy, including the Milky Way. With the high angular resolution of Chandra, we are able to study the X-ray morphology of the bright remnants for the first time. A spectral analysis of the seven X-ray brightest SNRs reveals that two, G98-31 and G98-35, have spectra that appear to indicate enrichment by ejecta from core-collapse supernova explosions. A comparison of the X-ray lu-minosity function of the SNRs in M33 to the LMC and SMC indicates that the LMC, and to a lesser extent the SMC, have more, high luminosity SNRs than M33. We did not discover any close analogs of Cas A, Kepler's SNR, Tycho's SNR or the Crab Nebula in the regions of M33 surveyed, but we have found an X-ray source with a power law spectrum coincident with a small-diameter radio source that may be the first pulsar-wind nebula recognized in M33.
- Publication:
-
38th COSPAR Scientific Assembly
- Pub Date:
- 2010
- Bibcode:
- 2010cosp...38.2795P