AN XMM-NEWTON STUDY OF THE BRIGHT, NEARBY SUPERNOVA REMNANT G296.1-0.5

We present a detailed study of the supernova remnant (SNR) G296.1-0.5, performed using observations with the European Photon Imaging Camera (EPIC) and Reflection Grating Spectrometer instruments of the XMM-Newton satellite. G296.1-0.5 is a bright remnant that displays an incomplete multiple-shell morphology in both its radio and X-ray images. We use a set of observations toward G296.1-0.5, from three distinct pointings of EPIC, in order to perform a thorough spatial and spectral analysis of this remnant, and hence determine what type of progenitor gave rise to the supernova explosion, and describe the evolutionary state of the SNR. Our XMM-Newton observations establish that the spectral characteristics are consistent across the X-ray bright regions of the object and are best described by a model of the emission from a nonequilibrium ionization collisional plasma. The study reveals that the emission from the shell is characterized by an excess of N and an underabundance of O, which is typical of wind material from red supergiant and Wolf-Rayet stars. Additionally, we have detected transient X-ray source 2XMMi J115004.8-622442 at the edge of the SNR whose properties suggest that it is the result of stellar flare, and we discuss its nature in more detail.