DEM L241, a Supernova Remnant containing a High-Mass X-ray Binary

TL;DR

This paper reports the discovery of a supernova remnant in the Large Magellanic Cloud containing a probable high-mass X-ray binary, with detailed spectral analysis and discussion of its unusual elongation.

Contribution

It presents the identification of a supernova remnant with an embedded high-mass X-ray binary and analyzes its spectral properties and morphology.

Findings

Detection of an unresolved X-ray source likely an accretion binary

Spectral analysis yields density and mass of hot interior material

Remnant exhibits unusual elongation possibly due to explosion asymmetry

Abstract

A Chandra observation of the Large Magellanic Cloud supernova remnant DEM L241 reveals an interior unresolved source which is probably an accretion-powered binary. The optical counterpart is an O5III(f) star making this a High-Mass X-ray Binary (HMXB) with orbital period likely to be of order tens of days. Emission from the remnant interior is thermal and spectral information is used to derive density and mass of the hot material. Elongation of the remnant is unusual and possible causes of this are discussed. The precursor star probably had mass > 25 solar masses