Grade Level at Time of Presentation
*Select One*
Major
Physics
Minor
Astrophysics
Institution
Morehead State University
KY House District #
88 (D. Rush) & 72 (H. West)
KY Senate District #
77 (D. Rush) & 27 (H. West)
Faculty Advisor/ Mentor
Thomas Pannuti, PhD
Department
Department of Earth and Space Sciences
Abstract
Since its launch in 1999, the Chandra X-ray Observatory has spurred explosive growth in the study of Galactic supernova remnants (SNRs) due to its unsurpassed angular resolution (1 arcsecond at 1 keV) and its moderate sensitivity. We are currently analyzing archival observations made by Chandra of two particular classes of SNRs: mixed-morphology SNRs (which feature contrasting center-filled thermal X-ray morphologies with shell-like radio morphologies) and synchrotron X-ray SNRs (which feature X-ray spectra dominated by synchrotron emission). To illustrate some of our initial results, we present spatially resolved spectroscopic analyses of the mixed-morphology SNR 3C 397 and the synchrotron X-ray dominated SNR G353.6-0.7. In the former case, we have fit extracted spectra with a recombination-dominated thermal plasma model to determine the ionization state of the plasma associated with this SNR. In the latter case, we have fit extracted spectra with synchrotron models to determine the maximum energies of cosmic-ray electrons accelerated by the SNR.
Included in
An Analysis of Archival Observations Made of Galactic Supernova Remnants by the Chandra X-ray Observatory
Since its launch in 1999, the Chandra X-ray Observatory has spurred explosive growth in the study of Galactic supernova remnants (SNRs) due to its unsurpassed angular resolution (1 arcsecond at 1 keV) and its moderate sensitivity. We are currently analyzing archival observations made by Chandra of two particular classes of SNRs: mixed-morphology SNRs (which feature contrasting center-filled thermal X-ray morphologies with shell-like radio morphologies) and synchrotron X-ray SNRs (which feature X-ray spectra dominated by synchrotron emission). To illustrate some of our initial results, we present spatially resolved spectroscopic analyses of the mixed-morphology SNR 3C 397 and the synchrotron X-ray dominated SNR G353.6-0.7. In the former case, we have fit extracted spectra with a recombination-dominated thermal plasma model to determine the ionization state of the plasma associated with this SNR. In the latter case, we have fit extracted spectra with synchrotron models to determine the maximum energies of cosmic-ray electrons accelerated by the SNR.