%0 Journal Article
%T Chandra observations of SN 1987A: the soft X-ray light curve revisited
%A E. A. Helder
%A P. S. Broos
%A D. Dewey
%A E. Dwek
%A R. McCray
%A S. Park
%A J. L. Racusin
%A S. A. Zhekov
%A D. N. Burrows
%J Physics
%D 2012
%I arXiv
%R 10.1088/0004-637X/764/1/11
%X We report on the present stage of SN 1987A as observed by the Chandra X-ray Observatory. We reanalyze published Chandra observations and add three more epochs of Chandra data to get a consistent picture of the evolution of the X-ray fluxes in several energy bands. We discuss the implications of several calibration issues for Chandra data. Using the most recent Chandra calibration files, we find that the 0.5-2.0 keV band fluxes of SN 1987A have increased by ~6 x 10 ^-13 erg s^-1 cm^-2 per year since 2009. This is in contrast with our previous result that the 0.5-2.0 keV light curve showed a sudden flattening in 2009. Based on our new analysis, we conclude that the forward shock is still in full interaction with the equatorial ring.
%U http://arxiv.org/abs/1212.2664v1