Recent evidence has suggested that the supernova remnant ( SNR ) 0104 - 72.3 in the Small Magellanic Cloud ( SMC ) may be the result of a “ prompt ” Type Ia SN based on enhanced iron abundances and its association with a star-forming region .
In this paper , we present evidence that SNR 0104 - 72.3 arose from a jet-driven bipolar core-collapse SN .
Specifically , we use serendipitous Chandra X-ray Observatory data of SNR 0104 - 72.3 taken due to its proximity to the calibration source SNR E0102 - 72.3 .
We analyze 56 Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer ( ACIS ) observations of SNR 0104 - 72.3 to produce imaging and spectra with an effective exposure of 528.6 ks .
We demonstrate that SNR 0104 - 72.3 is highly elliptical relative to other nearby young SNRs , suggesting a core-collapse SN origin .
Furthermore , we compare ejecta abundances derived from spectral fits to nucleosynthetic yields of Type Ia and core-collapse ( CC ) SNe , and we find that the iron , neon , and silicon abundances are consistent with either a spherical CC SN of a 18–20 M _ { \sun } progenitor or an aspherical CC SN of a 25 M _ { \sun } progenitor .
We show that the star-formation history at the site of SNR 0104 - 72.3 is also consistent with a CC origin .
Given the bipolar morphology of the SNR , we favor the aspherical CC SN scenario .
This result may suggest jet-driven SNe occur frequently in the low-metallicity environment of the SMC , consistent with the observational and theoretical work on broad-line Type Ic SNe and long-duration gamma-ray bursts .