Interacting Stellar Wind and Photoionization Models of the SN 1987A Remnant

We are investigating the SN 1987A remnant by modeling the circumstellar environment of the progenitor star. Interacting stellar winds models have been reasonably successful at reproducing the gross features of the nebula, but some details, such as the early rise of the radio and x-ray emission from the supernova blast and the presence of the outer rings, are not explained in a pure wind model. In this paper we describe preliminary results from 2-D models that incorporate the effects of photoionization due to radiation from the central star. These models have successfully produced a thick HII region, as needed to produce the early radio and X-ray emission. The HII region is thickest away from the equatorial plane. The models have also produced a feature resembling the outer rings, but we suspect this to be an artifact of the 2-D calculations that would not persist in 3-D.