Search

Supernova remnants (SNRs) have been prime candidates for Galactic cosmic-ray accelerators. When low-energy cosmic-ray protons (LECRp) collide with interstellar gas, they ionize neutral iron atoms and emit the neutral iron line (Fe i Kα) at 6.40 keV. We search for the iron K-shell line in seven SNRs from the Suzaku archive data of the Galactic plane in the region. All of these SNRs interact with molecular clouds. We discover Fe i Kα line emissions from five SNRs (W28, Kes 67, Kes 69, Kes 78, and W44). The spectra and morphologies suggest that the Fe i Kα line is produced by interactions between LECRp and the adjacent cold gas. The proton energy density is estimated to be ≳10–100 eV cm−3, which is more than 10 times higher than that in the ambient interstellar medium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supernova remnants (SNRs) are the primary candidate of Galactic cosmic-ray accelerators. It is still an open issue when and how young SNRs, which typically exhibit strong synchrotron X-rays and GeV and TeV gamma rays, undergo the state transition to middle-aged SNRs dominated by thermal X-rays and GeV gamma rays. SNR N132D in the Large Magellanic Cloud is an ideal target to study such a transition, exhibiting bright X-rays and gamma rays, and with an expected age of ∼2500 years. In this paper we present results of NuSTAR and Suzaku spectroscopy. We reveal that N132D has a nearly equilibrium plasma with a temperature of >5 keV or a recombining plasma with a lower temperature (∼1.5 keV) and a recombining timescale () of cm−3s. Together with the center-filled morphology observed in the iron K line image, our results suggest that N132D is now at the transition stage from being a young SNR to being middle-aged. We have constrained the tight upper limit of nonthermal X-rays. Bright gamma rays compared to faint nonthermal X-rays suggest that the gamma rays are hadronic in origin. The spectral energy distribution from radio to gamma rays shows a proton cutoff energy of ∼30 TeV. These facts confirm that N132D is undergoing the transition from a young to a middle-aged SNR. The large thermal energy of erg and accelerated proton energy of erg suggest the supernova explosion might have been very energetic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports detailed K-shell line profiles of iron (Fe) and nickel (Ni) of the Galactic Center X-ray Emission (GCXE), Galactic Bulge X-ray Emission (GBXE), Galactic Ridge X-ray Emission (GRXE), magnetic Cataclysmic Variables (mCVs), non-magnetic Cataclysmic Variables (non-mCVs), and coronally Active Binaries (ABs). For the study of the origin of the GCXE, GBXE, and GRXE, the spectral analysis is focused on equivalent widths of the Fe i-Kα, Fe xxv-Heα, and Fe xxvi-Lyα lines. The global spectrum of the GBXE is reproduced by a combination of the mCVs, non-mCVs, and ABs spectra. On the other hand, the GRXE spectrum shows significant data excesses at the Fe i-Kα and Fe xxv-Heα line energies. This means that additional components other than mCVs, non-mCVs, and ABs are required, which have symbiotic phenomena of cold gas and very high-temperature plasma. The GCXE spectrum shows larger excesses than those found in the GRXE spectrum at all the K-shell lines of iron and nickel. Among them the largest ones are the Fe i-Kα, Fe xxv-Heα, Fe xxvi-Lyα, and Fe xxvi-Lyβ lines. Together with the fact that the scale heights of the Fe i-Kα, Fe xxv-Heα, and Fe xxvi-Lyα lines are similar to that of the central molecular zone (CMZ), the excess components would be related to high-energy activity in the extreme envelopment of the CMZ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]