We present an analysis of the dispersed spectral data from 11 epochs (March 2011 to September 2018) of supernova remnant (SNR) 1987A observations performed with Chandra. These observations were performed with the High Energy Transmission Grating (HETG) as part of our ongoing Chandra monitoring campaign of SNR 1987A, whose 1 st -order dispersed spectrum provides a significantly greater energy resolution than the previously-published 0 th -order spectrum. Our data sets with moderate exposure times of ∼50-70ks per epoch cover the time period between deep Chandra HETG observations (with individual exposures >∼200ks) taken in March 2011 and March 2018. These data have a much higher cadence than the widely-spaced deep high-resolution spectra, at the expense of total exposure time. While statistical uncertainties are large due to low photon count statistics in the observed 1 st -order spectra, we find that spectral model parameters are generally in line with the shock wave propagating into the medium beyond the dense inner ring, as suggested by Frank et al. (2016). As the reverse shock begins ionizing the heavier elements of the supernova ejecta interior to the equatorial ring, spectral fit parameters are expected to change as the chemical makeup and physical properties of the shocked gas evolve. Based on our broadband spectral model fits, we find that abundance values appear to be constant in this time period. While our results are somewhat limited due to photon statistics, we demonstrate the utility of the dispersed HETG spectral analysis that can be performed with our regular Chandra monitoring observations of SNR 1987A.

Based on observations with the Chandra X-ray Observatory, we present the latest spectral evolution of the X-ray remnant of SN 1987A (SNR 1987A). We present a high-resolution spectroscopic analysis using our new deep (∼312 ks) Chandra HETG observation taken in 2018 March as well as archival Chandra grating spectroscopic data taken in 2004, 2007, and 2011 with similarly deep exposures (∼170–350 ks). We perform detailed spectral model fits to quantify changing plasma conditions over the last 14 yr. Recent changes in electron temperatures and volume-emission measures suggest that the shocks moving through the inner ring have started interacting with less dense circumstellar material, probably beyond the inner ring. We find significant changes in the X-ray line-flux ratios (among H- and He-like Si and Mg ions) in 2018, consistent with changes in the thermal conditions of the X-ray-emitting plasma that we infer based on the broadband spectral analysis. Post-shock electron temperatures suggested by line-flux ratios are in the range ∼0.8–2.5 keV as of 2018. We do not yet observe any evidence of substantial abundance enhancement, suggesting that the X-ray emission component from the reverse-shocked metal-rich ejecta is not yet significant in the observed X-ray spectrum.

We present the densely sampled early light curve of the Type II supernova (SN) 2023ixf, first observed within hours of explosion in the nearby Pinwheel Galaxy (Messier 101; 6.7 Mpc). Comparing these data to recently updated models of shock-cooling emission, we find that the progenitor likely had a radius of 410 ± 10 R ⊙. Our estimate is model dependent but consistent with a red supergiant. These models provide a good fit to the data starting about 1 day after the explosion, despite the fact that the classification spectrum shows signatures of circumstellar material around SN 2023ixf during that time. Photometry during the first day after the explosion, provided almost entirely by amateur astronomers, does not agree with the shock-cooling models or a simple power-law rise fit to data after 1 day. We consider the possible causes of this discrepancy, including precursor activity from the progenitor star, circumstellar interaction, and emission from the shock before or after it breaks out of the stellar surface. The very low luminosity (−11 mag > M > −14 mag) and short duration of the initial excess lead us to prefer a scenario related to prolonged emission from the SN shock traveling through the progenitor system.

Supernova remnants (SNRs) are well-recognised dust producers, but their net dust production rate remains elusive due to uncertainties in grain properties that propagate into observed dust mass uncertainties, and determine how efficiently these grains are processed by reverse shocks. In this paper, we present a detection of polarised dust emission in the Crab pulsar wind nebula, the second SNR with confirmed polarised dust emission after Cassiopeia A. We constrain the bulk composition of the dust with new SOFIA/HAWC+ polarimetric data in band C 89 μm and band D 154 μm. After correcting for synchrotron polarisation, we report dust polarisation fractions ranging between 3.7 − 9.6 per cent and 2.7 − 7.6 per cent in three individual dusty filaments at 89 and 154 μm, respectively. The detected polarised signal suggests the presence of large (≳ 0.05 − 0.1 μm) grains in the Crab Nebula. With the observed polarisation, and polarised and total fluxes, we constrain the temperatures and masses of carbonaceous and silicate grains. We find that the carbon-rich grain mass fraction varies between 12 and 70 per cent, demonstrating that carbonaceous and silicate grains co-exist in this SNR. Temperatures range from ∼40 K to ∼70 K and from ∼30 K to ∼50 K for carbonaceous and silicate grains, respectively. Dust masses range from ∼10−4 M⊙ to ∼10−2 M⊙ for carbonaceous grains and to ∼10−1 M⊙ for silicate grains, in three individual regions.

We present far-infrared (FIR) spectroscopy of supernova remnants (SNRs) based on the archival data of the Infrared Space Observatory taken with the Long Wavelength Spectrometer (LWS). Our sample includes previously unpublished profiles of line and continuum spectra for 20 SNRs in the Galaxy and Magellanic Clouds. In several SNRs including G21.5–0.9, G29.7–0.3, the Crab Nebula, and G320.4–1.2, we find evidence for broad [O i], [O iii], [N ii], and [C ii] lines with velocity dispersions up to a few 103 km s−1, indicating that they are associated with high-velocity SN ejecta. Our detection of Doppler-broadened atomic emission lines and a bright FIR continuum hints at the presence of newly formed dust in SN ejecta. For G320.4–1.2, we present the first estimate of an ejecta-dust mass of 0.1–0.2 M ⊙, which spatially coincides with the broad-line emission, by applying a blackbody model fit with components of the SNR and background emission. Our sample includes raster maps of 63 μm, 145 μm [O i], and 158 μm [C ii] lines toward SNRs Kes 79, CTB 109, and IC 443. Based on these line intensities, we suggest interacting shock types in these SNRs. Finally, we compare our LWS spectra of our sample SNRs with the spectra of several H ii regions, and discuss their FIR line intensity ratios and continuum properties. Follow-up observations with modern instruments (e.g., JWST and SOFIA) with higher spatial and spectral resolution are encouraged for an extensive study of the SN ejecta and the SN dust.