1997/09/12 by Jacco Vink, J. S. Kaastra, Jelle Kaastra +5
Physics and Astronomy · #Astrophysics (astro-ph) #Astrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena #FOS: Physical sciences #Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae #Nuclear Physics and Applications #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.astro-ph/9709117
7 pages, 5 figures
arxiv created 1997/09/12 · openalex publication_date 1997/09/12 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
We present an analysis of ASCA X-ray data of SNR RCW 86. There appears to be a remarkable spectral variation over the remnant, indicating temperatures varying from 0.8 keV to > 3 keV. We have fitted these spectra with non-equilibrium ionization models and found that all regions are best fitted by emission from a hot plasma underabundant in metals (<0.25 solar), but in some cases fluorescent emission indicates overabundances of Ar and Fe. The ionization stage of the metals appears to be far from equilibrium, at some spots as low as log(ne t) 15.3 (SI units). We discuss the physical reality of the abundances and suggest an electron distribution with a supra-thermal tail to alleviate the strong depletion factors observed. We argue that RCW 86 is the result of a cavity explosion.