High Resolution X-ray Spectra of Supernova Remnants

Abstract

We review results obtained with the Focal Plane Crystal Spectrometer (FPCS) on the Einstein Observatory. Clear evidence is found for departures from ionization equilibrium in the interior of Puppis A. This comes from the observed weakness of the forbidden lines relative to the resonance lines for the He - like triplets of O VII and Ne IX. However, it is shown that this departure from equilibrium does not alter our conclusion, based on previous FPCS results, that O and Ne are overabundant relative to Fe. The spectrum of N132D shows strong O VIII emission and very weak Fe emission, suggesting an even greater O/Fe abundance enhancement than in Puppis A. In the Cygnus Loop, the O to Ne abundance ratio is approximately solar; we have no information about Fe. The O VII triplet shows clear evidence for departures from ionization equilibrium in the Cygnus Loop. The spectrum of Tycho's SNR contains lines from ionization stages of Fe XVII through Fe XXIII and XXIV, indicating that a wide range of ionization conditions are present. Cas A and Kepler's SNR show relatively less emission from the higher ionization stages. For Tycho, we measured the strength of the strong Si XIII lines, and we find that a many-fold overabundance of Si relative to Fe is required regardless of the equilibrium state of the emitting plasma (confirming the Solid State Spectrometer results). On a separate topic, the completed analysis of X-ray Doppler shifts in Cas A suggests that the emitting material is concentrated in a ring that is inclined to the line of sight and is expanding at ~5000 km s−1.