An Archival X-ray Study of Supernova Remnants in Nearby Spiral and Irregular Galaxies with the Chandra X-ray Observatory

Supernova remnants (SNRs) are intimately involved with the evolution of the interstellar medium of a galaxy. While the number of known Galactic SNRs is large, significant obstacles exist when studying these sources (such as considerable distance uncertainties and extensive absorption along Galactic lines of sight), thereby limiting the insights which may be revealed about both SNRs and SNR-related phenomena. To help address this limitation, we are conducting a survey of SNRs located in a sample of nearby (within 8 Mpc) spiral and irregular galaxies. This survey draws primarily on archival data from observations made with the Chandra X-ray Observatory: the high angular resolution capabilities of Chandra are essential for identifying SNRs located in regions of high confusion. Our approach is to identify X-ray counterparts to SNRs previously identified by observations made at other wavelengths (mainly optical and radio) and to seek out new candidate X-ray SNRs as soft-spectra sources coincident with regions of optical emission in the host galaxies. Initial results and tentative conclusions will be presented and discussed