Strong Evolution of X-Ray Absorption in the Type IIn Supernova SN 2010jl

TL;DR

This study presents X-ray observations of supernova SN 2010jl, revealing evolving absorption and emission features that shed light on circumstellar interaction and shock propagation.

Contribution

First detailed X-ray spectral analysis of SN 2010jl showing evolution of circumstellar absorption and emission over time.

Findings

High initial absorption (~10^{24} cm^{-2}) decreasing over a year

Detection of a 6.4 keV Fe fluorescent line in the first epoch

Unabsorbed X-ray luminosity remains constant at ~7 x 10^{41} erg/s

Abstract

We report two epochs of Chandra-ACIS X-ray imaging spectroscopy of the nearby bright Type IIn supernova SN 2010jl, taken around 2 months and then a year after the explosion. The majority of the X-ray emission in both the spectra is characterized by a high temperature ($\ga 10$ keV) and is likely to be from the forward shocked region resulting from circumstellar interaction. The absorption column density in the first spectrum is high, ~ 10^{24} cm^{-2}, more than 3 orders of magnitude higher than the Galactic absorption column, and we attribute it to absorption by circumstellar matter. In the second epoch observation, the column density has decreased by a factor of 3, as expected for shock propagation in the circumstellar medium. The unabsorbed 0.2-10 keV luminosity at both epochs is ~7 x 10^{41} erg/s. The 6.4 keV Fe line clearly present in the first spectrum is not detected in the second spectrum. The strength of the fluorescent line is roughly that expected for the column density of circumstellar gas, provided the Fe is not highly ionized. There is also evidence for an absorbed power law component in both the spectra, which we attribute to a background ultraluminous X-ray source.