SOLAR WIND CHARGE EXCHANGE CONTRIBUTION TO THE ROSAT ALL SKY SURVEY MAPS

Abstract

DXL ( Diffuse X-ray emission from the Local Galaxy ) is a sounding rocket mission designed to estimate the contribution of solar wind charge eXchange (SWCX) to the diffuse X-ray background and to help determine the properties of the Local Hot Bubble. The detectors are large area thin-window proportional counters with a spectral response that is similar to that of the PSPC used in the ROSAT All Sky Survey (RASS). A direct comparison of DXL and RASS data for the same part of the sky viewed from quite different vantage points in the solar system, and the assumption of approximate isotropy for the solar wind, allowed us to quantify the SWCX contribution to all six RASS bands (R1–R7, excluding R3). We find that the SWCX contribution at , where the DXL path crosses the Galactic plane, is for R1, for R2, for R4, for R5, and negligible for the R6 and R7 bands. Reliable models for the distribution of neutral H and He in the solar system permit estimation of the contribution of interplanetary SWCX emission over the the whole sky and correction of the RASS maps. We find that the average SWCX contribution in the whole sky is for R1, for R2, for R4, for R5, and negligible for R6 and R7.