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Recent high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy has revealed that several supernova remnants (SNRs) in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) show unusually high forbidden-to-resonance (f / r) line ratios. While their origin is still uncertain and debated, most of these SNRs have asymmetric morphology and/or show evidence of interaction with dense material, which may hint at the true nature of the anomalous f / r ratios. Here we report on a detailed spectral analysis of the LMC SNR J0453.6−6829 with the Reflection Grating Spectrometer (RGS) onboard XMM-Newton. We find that the f / r ratio of O  vii (⁠|$=1.06^{+0.09}_{-0.10}$|⁠) is significantly higher than expected from the previously reported thermal model. The spectrum is suitably explained by taking into account a charge exchange (CX) emission in addition to the thermal component. Analyzing archival ATCA and Parkes radio data, we also reveal that an H  i cloud is possibly interacting with J0453.6−6829. These results support the presence of CX in J0453.6−6829, as the origin of the obtained high f / r ratio. Although a contribution of the resonance scattering (RS) cannot be ruled out at this time, we conclude that CX seems more likely than RS considering the relatively symmetric morphology of this remnant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy revealed the possible presence of charge exchange (CX) X-ray emission in supernova remnants (SNRs). Although CX is expected to take place at the outermost edges of SNR shells, no significant measurement has been reported so far due to the lack of nearby SNR samples. Here we present an X-ray study of SNR G296.1âˆ'0.5, which has a complicated multiple-shell structure, with the Reflection Grating Spectrometer on board XMM-Newton. We select two shells in different regions and find that in both regions the O vii line shows a high forbidden-to-resonance (f / r) ratio that cannot be reproduced by a simple thermal model. Our spectral analysis suggests a presence of CX and the result is also supported by our new radio observation, where we discover evidence of molecular clouds associated with these shells. Assuming G296.1âˆ'0.5 has a spherical shock, we estimate that CX is dominant in a thin layer with a thickness of 0.2%â€"0.3% of the shock radius. The result is consistent with a previous theoretical expectation and we therefore conclude that CX occurs in G296.1âˆ'0.5. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The physical origin of the overionized recombining plasmas (RPs) in supernova remnants (SNRs) has been attracting attention because its understanding provides new insight into SNR evolution. However, the process of the overionization, although it has been discussed in some RP-SNRs, is not yet fully understood. Here, we report on spatially resolved spectroscopy of X-ray emission from IC 443 with XMM-Newton. We find that RPs in regions interacting with dense molecular clouds tend to have lower electron temperature and lower recombination timescale. These tendencies indicate that RPs in these regions are cooler and more strongly overionized, which is naturally interpreted as a result of rapid cooling by the molecular clouds via thermal conduction. Our result on IC 443 is similar to that on W44 showing evidence for thermal conduction as the origin of RPs at least in older remnants. We suggest that evaporation of clumpy gas embedded in a hot plasma rapidly cools the plasma as was also found in the W44 case. We also discuss if ionization by protons accelerated in IC 443 is responsible for RPs. Based on the energetics of particle acceleration, we conclude that the proton bombardment is unlikely to explain the observed properties of RPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The synchrotron X-ray "stripes" discovered in Tycho's supernova remnant (SNR) have been attracting attention as they may be evidence for proton acceleration up to PeV. We analyzed Chandra data taken in 2003, 2007, 2009, and 2015 for imaging and spectroscopy of the stripes in the southwestern region of the SNR. Comparing images obtained at different epochs, we find that time variability of synchrotron X-rays is not limited to two structures previously reported but is more common in the region. Spectral analysis of nine bright stripes reveals not only their time variabilities but also a strong anti-correlation between the surface brightness and photon indices. The spectra of the nine stripes have photon indices of Γ = 2.1–2.6 and are significantly harder than those of the outer rim of the SNR in the same region with Γ = 2.7–2.9. Based on these findings, we indicate that the magnetic field is substantially amplified, and suggest that particle acceleration through a stochastic process may be at work in the stripes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supernova remnants (SNRs) have been regarded as major acceleration sites of Galactic cosmic rays. Recent X-ray studies revealed neutral Fe Kα line emission from dense gas in the vicinity of some SNRs, which can be best interpreted as K-shell ionization of Fe atoms in the gas by sub-relativistic particles accelerated in the SNRs. In this Letter, we propose a novel method of constraining the composition of particles accelerated in SNRs, which is currently unknown. When energetic heavy ions collide with target atoms, their strong Coulomb field can easily cause simultaneous ejection of multiple inner-shell electrons of the target. This results in shifts in characteristic X-ray line energies, forming distinctive spectral structures. Detection of such structures in the neutral Fe Kα line strongly supports the particle ionization scenario, and furthermore provides direct evidence of heavy ions in the accelerated particles. We construct a model for the Fe Kα line structures by various projectile ions utilizing atomic-collision data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resonance scattering (RS) is an important process in astronomical objects, because it affects measurements of elemental abundances and distorts surface brightness of the object. It is predicted that RS can occur in plasmas of supernova remnants (SNRs). Although several authors reported hints of RS in SNRs, no strong observational evidence has been established so far. We perform a high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy of the SNR N49 with the Reflection Grating Spectrometer on board XMM-Newton. The Reflection Grating Spectrometer spectrum of N49 shows a high G-ratio of O vii Heα lines as well as O viii Lyβ/α and Fe xvii (3s–2p)/(3d–2p) ratios, which cannot be explained by the emission from a thin thermal plasma. These line ratios can be well explained by the effect of RS. Our result implies that RS has a large impact particularly on a measurement of the oxygen abundance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analyzing Chandra data of Tycho's supernova remnant (SNR) taken in 2000, 2003, 2007, 2009, and 2015, we search for time-variable features of synchrotron X-rays in the southwestern part of the SNR, where stripe structures of hard X-ray emission were previously found. By comparing X-ray images obtained at each epoch, we discover a knot-like structure in the northernmost part of the stripe region became brighter particularly in 2015. We also find a bright filamentary structure gradually became fainter and narrower as it moves outward. Our spectral analysis reveals that not only the nonthermal X-ray flux but also the photon indices of the knot-like structure change from year to year. During the period from 2000 to 2015, the small knot shows a brightening of ∼70% and hardening of ΔΓ ∼ 0.45. The time variability can be explained if the magnetic field is amplified to and/or if magnetic turbulence significantly changes with time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Galactic cosmic rays (CRs) are widely believed to be accelerated by shock waves associated with the expansion of supernova ejecta into the interstellar medium. A key issue in this long-standing conjecture is a theoretical prediction that the interstellar magnetic field can be substantially amplified at the shock of a young supernova remnant (SNR) through magnetohydrodynamic waves generated by cosmic rays. Here we report a discovery of the brightening and decay of X-ray hot spots in the shell of the SNR RX J1713.7-3946 on a one-year timescale. This rapid variability shows that the X-rays are produced by ultrarelativistic electrons through a synchrotron process and that electron acceleration does indeed take place in a strongly magnetized environment, indicating amplification of the magnetic field by a factor of more than 100. The X-ray variability also implies that we have witnessed the ongoing shock-acceleration of electrons in real time. Independently, broadband X-ray spectrometric measurements of RX J1713.7-3946 indicate that electron acceleration proceeds in the most effective (‘Bohm-diffusion’) regime. Taken together, these two results provide a strong argument for acceleration of protons and nuclei to energies of 1 PeV (1015 eV) and beyond in young supernova remnants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The young shell-type supernova remnant (SNR) RX J1713.7−3946 has been studied as a suitable target to test the SNR paradigm for the origin of Galactic cosmic rays. We present a spatially resolved spectroscopy of the non-thermal X-ray emission in RX J1713.7−3946 with Chandra. In order to obtain X-ray properties of the filamentary structures and their surrounding regions, we divide the southeastern (SE), southwestern (SW), and northwestern (NW) parts of the SNR into subregions on the typical order of several 10" and extract spectra from each subregion. Their photon indices are significantly different among the subregions, with a range of 1.8 < Γ < 3. In the SE part, the clear filaments are harder (Γ ∼ 2.0) than the surrounding regions. This is a common feature often observed in young SNRs and naturally interpreted as a consequence of synchrotron cooling. On the other hand, the bright filamentary regions do not necessarily coincide with the hardest regions in the SW and NW parts. We also find the SW filamentary region is relatively rather soft (Γ ∼ 2.7). In addition, we find that hard regions with photon indices of 2.0–2.2 exist around the bright emission although the hard regions lie in the downstream region and the bright emission does not appear to be the blast wave shock front. Both the aforementioned characteristic regions in SW are located close to peaks of the interstellar gas. We discuss possible origins of the spatial variation of the photon indices, paying particular attention to the shock–cloud interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present Suzaku results of the two Galactic supernova remnants (SNRs) G350.1−0.3 and G349.7+0.2. We find Al and Ni Kα lines from both the SNRs for the first time, in addition to previously detected K-shell lines of Mg, Si, S, Ar, Ca, and Fe. The spectra are well described by two optically thin thermal plasmas: a low-temperature (low-kT) plasma in collisional ionization equilibrium and a high-temperature (high-kT) plasma in non-equilibrium ionization. Since the low-kT plasma has solar metal abundances, it is thought to be of interstellar medium origin. The high-kT plasma has super-solar abundances, hence it is likely to be of ejecta origin. The abundance patterns of the ejecta components are similar to those of core-collapse supernovae with progenitor masses of ∼ 15–25 M⊙ for G350.1−0.3 and ∼ 35–40 M⊙ for G349.7+0.2. We find extremely high abundances of Ni compared to Fe (ZNi/ZFe ∼ 8). Based on the measured column densities between the SNRs and the near sky background, we propose that G350.1−0.3 and G349.7+0.2 are located at distances of 9 ± 3 kpc and 12 ± 5 kpc, respectively. Then the ejecta masses are estimated to be ∼ 13 M⊙ and ∼ 24 M⊙ for G350−0.3 and G349.7+0.2, respectively. These values are consistent with the progenitor masses of ∼ 15–25 M⊙ and ∼ 35–40 M⊙ for G350.1−0.3 and G349.7+0.2, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: SN 1006 is one of the supernova remnants (SNRs) with relatively low-temperature electrons, considering the young age of just 1000 years. We carried out SN 1006 mapping observations with the X-ray Imaging Spectrometers (XIS) and the Hard X-ray Detector (HXD) onboard Suzaku, the fifth Japanese X-ray satellite. Thanks to the excellent spectral resolution of XIS in the soft X-ray band, H-like and He-like oxygen emission lines were clearly detected, and we could make a map of the line intensity, and as well as a flux and the photon index of nonthermal component. We found that these parameters have spatial dependences from region to region in the SNR; the north region is bright in nonthermal, while dim in thermal; the east region is bright in both nonthermal and thermal; the inner region shows dim nonthermal and bright thermal emission. The photon index is the smallest in the north region. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]