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Title: Laboratory Measurements of X-Ray Emission from Highly Charged Argon Ions

Journal Article · · The Astrophysical Journal (Online)
 [1]; ORCiD logo [2];  [3];  [4]; ORCiD logo [3]; ORCiD logo [3];  [5]; ORCiD logo [2];  [5];  [6];  [4];  [5]; ORCiD logo [2]
  1. Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States); Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, MA (United States)
  2. Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, MA (United States)
  3. Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
  4. Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States)
  5. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Greenbelt, MD (United States)
  6. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Greenbelt, MD (United States); Univ. of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC), Baltimore, MD (United States)
+ Show Author Affiliations

Uncertainties in atomic models will introduce noticeable additional systematics in calculating the flux of weak dielectronic recombination (DR) satellite lines, affecting the detection and flux measurements of other weak spectral lines. One important example is the Ar xvii Heβ DR, which is expected to be present in emission from the hot intracluster medium of galaxy clusters and could impact measurements of the flux of the 3.5 keV line that has been suggested as a secondary emission from a dark matter interaction. We perform a set of experiments using the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's electron beam ion trap (EBIT-I) and the X-ray Spectrometer quantum calorimeter (XRS/EBIT) to test the Ar xvii Heβ DR origin of the 3.5 keV line. We measured the X-ray emission following resonant DR onto helium-like and lithium-like Argon using EBIT-I's Maxwellian simulator mode at a simulated electron temperature of T e = 1.74 keV. The measured flux of the Ar xvii Heβ DR lined is too weak to account for the flux in the 3.5 keV line, assuming reasonable plasma parameters. We, therefore, rule out Ar xvii Heβ DR as a significant contributor to the 3.5 keV line. A comprehensive comparison between the atomic theory and the EBIT experiment results is also provided.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC); National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC52-07NA27344; NNM15AA35I
OSTI ID:
1545276
Report Number(s):
LLNL-JRNL-744572
Journal Information:
The Astrophysical Journal (Online), Vol. 870, Issue 1; ISSN 1538-4357
Publisher:
Institute of Physics (IOP)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 6 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (2)

Highly charged ions in a new era of high resolution X‐ray astrophysics journal April 2019
EBIT Observation of Ar Dielectronic Recombination Lines near the Unknown Faint X-Ray Feature Found in the Stacked Spectrum of Galaxy Clusters journal February 2019

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74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS