WE REQUEST FUNDING TO SUPPORT AN XMM-NEWTON CYCLE 11 OBSERVATION (PRIORITY B UNFUNDED 56 KSEC) OF THE NEWLY-DISCOVERED SUPERNOVA REMNANT SWIFT J132150.9-633350 AND A NEARBY POINT SOURCE THAT MAY BE AN EJECTED NEUTRON STAR. THE REMNANT WAS DISCOVERED IN THE SWIFT GALACTIC PLANE SURVEY (PI) AND CONFIRMED VIA A 5 KSEC CHANDRA SNAPSHOT. THE SPECTRUM OF THE REMNANT INDICATES ENHANCES ABUNDANCES ESPECIALLY IN FE AND NI AND POINTS TO A YOUNG AGE FOR THE REMNANT. THE DISTANCE TO THE REMNANT IS NOTYET KNOW BUT FOR PLAUSIBLE DISTANCES IT IS ONE OF THE 10-20 YOUNGEST REMNANTS KNOWN. THE DEEP XMM-NEWTON OBSERVATION WE HAVE OBTAINED IS THEREFORE AN IMPORTANT LOOK AT AN IMPORTANT SOURCE; IT CAN HELP TO REVEAL THE NATURE OF THE EXPLOSION AND THE PROGENITOR STAR. MOREOVER ONLY XMM-NEWTON HAS THE FIELD OF VIEW AND CCD CHIP GEOMETRY THAT WILL ALLOW FOR A SIMULTANEOUS STUDY OF A NEARBY POINT SOURCE. FEW YOUNG NEUTRON STARS ARE KNOWN AND THIS OBSERVATION MARKS A RARE CHANCE TO STUDY ONE IN DETAIL. OUR FUNDING REQUEST IS BASED ON THE WORK REQUIRED TO COMPLETE THE ANALYSIS OF THIS OBSERVATION AND TO PUBLISH THE RESULTS. THIS RESEARCH ADDRESSES NASA SCIENCE GOALS FOR ASTROPHYSICS INCLUDING "HOW DO MATTER ENERGY SPACE AND TIME BEHAVE UNDER THE EXTRAORDINARY DIVERSE CONDITIONS OF THE COSMOS?
$47,532FY2014National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationNASA
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