2011ApJ...732..114L

Supernova remnants (SNRs) are a complex class of sources, and their heterogeneous nature has hindered the characterization of their general observational properties. To overcome this challenge, in this paper, we use statistical tools to analyze the Chandra X-ray images of Galactic and Large Magellanic Cloud SNRs. We apply two techniques, a power-ratio method (a multipole expansion) and wavelet-transform analysis, to measure the global and local morphological properties of the X-ray line and thermal emission in 24 SNRs. We find that Type Ia SNRs have statistically more spherical and mirror-symmetric thermal X-ray emission than core-collapse (CC) SNRs. The ability to type SNRs based on thermal emission morphology alone enables, for the first time, the typing of SNRs with weak X-ray lines and those with low-resolution spectra. Based on our analyses, we identify one source (SNR G344.7-0.1) as originating from a CC explosion that was of unknown origin previously; we also confirm the tentative Type Ia classifications of G337.2-0.7 and G272.2-3.2. Although the global morphology is indicative of the explosion type, the relative morphology of the X-ray line emission within SNRs is not: all sources in our sample have well-mixed ejecta, irrespective of stellar origin. In particular, we find that 90% of the bright metal-line-emitting substructures are spatially coincident and have similar scales, even if the metals arise from different burning processes. Moreover, the overall X-ray line morphologies within each SNR are the same, with <6% differences. These findings reinforce observationally that hydrodynamical instabilities can efficiently mix ejecta in Type Ia and CC SNRs. The only exception is W49B, which can be attributed to its jet-driven/bipolar explosive origin. Based on comparative analyses across our sample, we describe several observational constraints that can be used to test hydrodynamical models of SNR evolution; notably, the filling factor of X-ray emission decreases with SNR age.