• Mori, K.
• Boone, C.
• Schenck, Andrew
• Park, S.
• Lee, J.
• Lord, R.
• Burrows, D.
• Slane, Patrick
• Post, S.
• Hughes, John P.

Abstract

Measurements of interstellar composition are essential for understanding galactic evolution and the star-formation history of the Milky Way and other nearby galaxies. The Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) is an excellent candidate for the study of the Interstellar Medium (ISM) thanks to its proximity and low foreground absorption. X-ray spectroscopy of supernova remnants (SNRs) is independent of and complementary to the traditional optical spectroscopy of stars and HII regions for measuring metal abundances of gas-phase ISM. The LMC abundances currently available in the literature are based on data more than a decade-old. In particular, X-ray measurements were derived from a small number of SNRs observed by low resolution ( 3') ASCA detectors which were not able to avoid contamination from embedded metal-rich ejecta and/or pulsar wind nebulae. With high-resolution (0.5") Chandra data we can clearly isolate the swept-up ISM shells from central metal-rich ejecta and/or pulsar wind nebulae to estimate the 'true' metal abundances of the LMC ISM. Now, several dozens of LMC SNRs have been observed by Chandra, providing a large sample and diversity needed for accurate measurements of ISM abundances across the entire galaxy. We present our initial results on the O, Ne, Mg, Si, and Fe abundances of 17 LMC SNRs. We found our values to be typically lower than previously measured....

Topics

• impedance spectroscopy
• phase
• X-ray spectroscopy