Revealing New Physical Structures in the Supernova Remnant N63A through Chandra Imaging Spectroscopy

Abstract

We present Chandra X-ray observations of the supernova remnant (SNR) N63A in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). N63A, one of the brightest LMC remnants, is embedded in an H II region and is probably associated with an OB association. The optical remnant consists of three lobes of emission contained within the approximately 3 times larger X-ray remnant. Our Chandra data reveal a number of new physical structures in N63A. The most striking of these are the several ``crescent''-shaped structures located beyond the main shell that resemble similar features seen in the Vela SNR. In Vela, these have been interpreted as arising from high-speed clumps of supernova ejecta interacting with the ambient medium. Another distinct feature of the remnant is a roughly triangular ``hole'' in the X-ray emission near the location of the optical lobes and the brightest radio emission. X-ray spectral analysis shows that this deficit of emission is the result of absorption by an intervening dense cloud with a mass of ~450 M_solar that is currently being engulfed by the remnant's blast wave. We also find that the rim of the remnant, as well as the crescent-shaped features, has considerably softer X-ray spectra than the interior. Limits on hard X-ray emission rule out a young, energetic pulsar in N63A, but the presence of an older or less active one, powering a wind nebula with a luminosity less than ~4×10³⁴ ergs s^-1, is allowed.