CHANDRA OBSERVATIONS of SNR RCW 103

Abstract

We analyze three Chandra observations, with a combined exposure time of 99 ks, of the Galactic supernova remnant (SNR) RCW 103, a young SNR, with no previous clear detections of metal-rich ejecta. Based on our imaging and spectral analyses of these deep Chandra data, we find evidence for metal-rich ejecta emission scattered throughout the remnant. X-ray emission from the shocked ejecta is generally weak, and the shocked circumstellar medium (CSM) is a largely dominant component across the entire remnant. The CSM component shows abundances of ∼0.5 solar, while Ne, Mg, Si, S, and Fe abundances of the ejecta are up to a few times solar. Comparison of these ejecta abundances with yields from supernova nucleosynthesis models suggests, together with the existence of a central neutron star, a progenitor mass of ∼18-20 , though the Fe/Si ratios are larger than predicted. The shocked CSM emission suggests a progenitor with high mass-loss rate and subsolar metallicity.