A Chandra view of non-thermal emission in the northwestern region of supernova remnant RCW 86: Particle acceleration and magnetic fields
- MIT-Kavli Center for Astrophysics and Space Research, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States)
- Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States)
- Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California Santa Cruz, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95060 (United States)
The shocks of supernova remnants are believed to accelerate particles to cosmic ray (CR) energies. The amplification of the magnetic field due to CRs propagating in the shock region is expected to have an impact on both the emission from the accelerated particle population as well as the acceleration process itself. Using a 95 ks observation with the Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer on board the Chandra X-Ray Observatory, we map and characterize the synchrotron emitting material in the northwest region of RCW 86. We model spectra from several different regions, both filamentary and diffuse, where emission appears to be dominated by synchrotron radiation. The fine spatial resolution of Chandra allows us to obtain accurate emission profiles across three different non-thermal rims in this region. The narrow width (l ≈ 10''-30'') of these filaments constrains the minimum magnetic field strength at the post-shock region to approximately 80 μG.
- OSTI ID:
- 22348519
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 779, Issue 1; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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