X-ray observations of supernova remnants

Abstract

The two big X-ray observatories in orbit provide for the first time spatially resolved spectra of young supernova remnants, at very high spatial resolution (Chandra) and very high sensitivity (XMM-Newton). Two topics have benefitted most from these advances: (1) We now have maps of the line emission in several objects, showing strong variations at small and large scales. This reflects the distribution of the elements and how they were ejected at the time of the explosion. (2) The shocked ambient gas is now resolved from the much brighter ejecta. This allows us to look for specific signatures of cosmic-ray acceleration at the blast wave. © Copyright 2003: Instituto de Astronomía, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.