The origin of the X-ray-emitting plasma in the eastern edge of the Cygnus Loop
The origin of the X-ray-emitting plasma in the eastern edge of the Cygnus Loop
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DOI:
10.1111/j.1365-2966.2010.16684.x
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发表时间:
2010-03
影响因子:
4.8
通讯作者:
Xin Zhou;F. Bocchino;M. Miceli;S. Orlando;Yang Chen
中科院分区:
文献类型:
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作者:
Xin Zhou;F. Bocchino;M. Miceli;S. Orlando;Yang Chen
ABSTRACT The Cygnus Loop is interacting with a protrusion of the cavity wall in its easternedge (the XA region), where the X-ray emission is very bright. The complexity of theenvironment and the non-linear physical processes of the shock-cloud interaction makethe origin of the X-ray emission still not well understood. Our purpose is to understandthe physicaloriginofthe X-rayemissionin the XA region,addressing,in particular,therole of thermal conduction in the interaction process. We analyzed two XMM-Newtondata sets, performing image analysis and spatially resolved spectral analysis on a setof homogeneous regions. We applied a recently developed diagnostic tool to comparespectral analysis results with predictions of theoretical models, and to estimate theefficiency of thermal conduction on the X-ray emitting shocked plasma. We found thatthe inhomogeneous cavity wall contains both large clumps (the protrusion) and smallisolated clumps with different densities. A large indentation bent over to the southis detected. The abundance of the surrounding ISM is ∼ 0.2 times solar value. Weconfirmed the important role of thermal conduction in the evolution of X-ray emittingplasma during shock-cloud interaction.Keywords: ISM: individual: Cygnus Loop, G74.0−8.5 – ISM: clouds – ISM: super-nova remnants – X-rays: ISM.