A Suzaku Observation of the Low-Ionization Fe-Line Emission from RCW 86

Masaru Ueno, Rie Sato, Jun Kataoka, Ilana Harrus, Robert Petre
2007 Progress of Theoretical Physics Supplement  
The newly operational X-ray satellite Suzaku observed the southwestern quadrant of the supernova remnant (SNR) RCW 86 in February 2006 to study the nature of the 6.4 keV emission line first detected with the Advanced Satellite for Cosmology and Astronomy (ASCA). The new data confirm the existence of the line, localizing it for the first time; most of the line emission is adjacent and interior to the forward shock and not at the locus of the continuum hard emission. We also report the first
more » ... tion of a 7.1 keV line that we interpret as the K-beta emission from low-ionization iron. The Fe-K line features are consistent with a non-equilibrium plasma of Fe-rich ejecta with n_et < 10^9 cm^-3 s and kT_e 5 keV. This combination of low n_et and high kT_e suggests collisionless electron heating in an SNR shock. The Fe K-alpha line shows evidence for intrinsic broadening, with a width of 47 (34--59) eV (99 the hard continuum above 3 keV and the Fe-K line emission support a synchrotron origin for the hard continuum.
doi:10.1143/ptps.169.84 fatcat:6vhwco5c6rhrxfse6eyooqa3nu