KES-73 - A YOUNG SUPERNOVA REMNANT WITH AN X-RAY-BRIGHT, RADIO-QUIET CENTRAL SOURCE

We clarify the nature of the small-diameter supernova remnant (SNR) Ke s 73 and its central compact source, 1E 1841-045, using X-ray data acq uired with ASCA. We introduce a spatiospectral decomposition technique necessary to disentangle the ASCA spectrum of the compact source from the barely resolved shell-type remnant. The source spectrum (1-8 keV) is characterized by an absorbed power law with a photon index alpha 0 similar or equal to 3.4 and N-H similar or equal to 3.0 x 10(22) cm(- 2), possibly nonthermal in nature. This bright X-ray source is likely a slowly spinning pulsar, whose detection is reported in our companion paper. The SNR spectrum is characteristic of a thermal plasma, with k T similar or equal to 0.6 keV and emission lines typical of a young re mnant. The element Mg and possibly O and Ne are found to be overabunda nt, qualitatively suggesting an origin from a massive progenitor. We f ind that Kes 73 is a young (less than or similar to 2000 yr) Type II/I b SNR containing a neutron star pulsar spinning anomalously slowly for its age. Kes 73 is yet another member of a growing class of SNRs cont aining radio-quiet compact sources with a hard spectral signature.