No Arabic abstract
We report on the results of our detailed analyses on the peculiar recombining plasma of the supernova remnant (SNR) G359.1$-$0.5, and the interacting CO clouds. Combining {it Chandra} and {it Suzaku} data, we estimated the ionization state of the plasma with a careful treatment of the background spectrum. The average spectrum showed a remarkably large deviation of the electron temperature ($sim$0.17 keV) from the initial temperature ($>$ 16 keV), indicating that the plasma is in a highly recombination-dominant state. On the other hand, the recombination timescale $({it n_{rm e} t})$ is comparable to those of the other recombining SNRs ($sim4.2 times 10^{11}$ cm$^{-3}$ s). We also searched for spatial variation of the plasma parameters, but found no significant differences. Using $^{12}$CO($J$=2--1) data obtained with NANTEN2, we found a new, plausible candidate for the interacting CO cloud, which has a line-of-sight velocity of $sim -$20 km s$^{-1}$. This indicates that the SNR is located at a distance of $sim$4 kpc, which is the foreground of the Galactic center, as previously reported. The associated CO cloud does not show clear spatial coincidence with the nearby GeV/TeV emission, indicating that the origins of the GeV/TeV emission are likely unrelated to G359.1$-$0.5.
We report new CO observations and a detailed molecular-line study of the mixed morphology (MM) supernova remnant (SNR) G359.1-0.5, which contains six OH (1720 MHz) masers along the radio shell, indicative of shock-cloud interaction. Observations of 12CO and 13CO J:1-0 lines were performed in a 38x38 arcmin area with the on-the-fly technique using the Kit Peak 12 Meter telescope. The molecular study has revealed the existence of a few clumps with densities around 1,000 cm$^{-3}$ compatible in velocity and position with the OH (1720 MHz) masers. These clumps, in turn, appear to be part of a larger, elongated molecular structure ~34 arcmin long extending between -12.48 and +1.83 km/s, adjacent to the western edge of the radio shell. According to the densities and relative position with respect to the masers, we conclude that the CO clouds depict unshocked gas, as observed in other remnants with OH (1720 MHz) masers. In addition, we investigated the distribution of the molecular gas towards the adjacent gamma-ray source HESS J1745-303 but could not find any morphological correlation between the gamma-rays and the CO emission at any velocity in this region.
We present the Suzaku results of a supernova remnant (SNR), G359.1-0.5 in the direction of the Galactic center region. From the SNR, we find prominent K-shell lines of highly ionized Si and S ions, together with unusual structures at 2.5-3.0 and 3.1-3.6 keV. No canonical SNR plasma model, in either ionization equilibrium or under-ionization, can explain the structures. The energies and shapes of the structures are similar to those of the radiative transitions of free electrons to the K-shell of He-like Si and S ions (radiative recombination continuum: RRC). The presence of the strong RRC structures indicates that the plasma is in over-ionization. In fact, the observed spectrum is well fitted with an over-ionized plasma model. The best-fit electron temperature of 0.29 keV is far smaller than the ionization temperature of 0.77 keV, which means that G359.1-0.5 is in extreme condition of over-ionization. We report some cautions on the physical parameters, and comment possible origins for the over-ionized plasma.
Recent observations have shown several supernova remnants (SNRs) have overionized plasmas, those where ions are stripped of more electrons than they would be if in equilibrium with the electron temperature. Rapid electron cooling is necessary to produce this situation, yet the physical origin of that cooling remains uncertain. To assess the cooling scenario responsible for overionization, in this paper, we identify and map the overionized plasma in the Galactic SNR W49B based on a 220 ks Chandra Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer (ACIS) observation. We performed a spatially-resolved spectroscopic analysis, measuring the electron temperature by modeling the continuum and comparing it to the temperature given by the flux ratio of the He-like and H-like lines of sulfur and of argon. Using these results, we find that W49B is overionized in the west, with a gradient of increasing overionization from east to west. As the ejecta expansion is impeded by molecular material in the east but not in the west, our overionization maps suggest the dominant cooling mechanism is adiabatic expansion of the hot plasma.
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 {it 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.
We present the results of an X-ray spectral analysis of the northeast region of the candidate supernova remnant G189.6+3.3 with Suzaku. K-shell lines from highly ionized Ne, Mg, Si, and S were detected in the spectrum for the first time. In addition, a radiative recombining continuum (RRC) from He-like Si was clearly seen near 2.5 keV. This detection of an RRC reveals for the first time that G189.6+3.3 possesses an X-ray-emitting recombining plasma (RP). The extracted X-ray spectrum in the 0.6-10.0 keV energy band is well fitted with a model consisting of a collisional ionization equilibrium plasma component (associated with the interstellar medium) and an RP component (associated with the ejecta). The spectral feature shows that G189.6+3.3 is most likely to be a middle-aged SNR with an RP.