Asymmetries of Heavy Elements in the Young Supernova Remnant Cassiopeia A

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

  • Tyler Holland-Ashford
  • Laura A. Lopez
  • Katie Auchettl

Supernova remnants (SNRs) offer the means to study supernovae (SNe) long after the original explosion and can provide a unique insight into the mechanism that governs these energetic events. In this work, we examine the morphologies of X-ray emission from different elements found in the youngest known core-collapse SNR in the Milky Way, Cassiopeia A. The heaviest elements exhibit the highest levels of asymmetry, which we relate to the burning process that created the elements and their proximity to the center of explosion. Our findings support recent model predictions that the material closest to the source of explosion will reflect the asymmetries inherent to the SN mechanism. Additionally, we find that the heaviest elements are moving more directly opposed to the neutron star (NS) than the lighter elements. This result is consistent with NS kicks arising from ejecta asymmetries.

Original languageEnglish
Article number144
JournalAstrophysical Journal
Volume889
Issue number2
Number of pages9
ISSN0004-637X
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Feb 2020

    Research areas

  • CORE-COLLAPSE SUPERNOVAE, RAY-EMITTING EJECTA, 3-DIMENSIONAL STRUCTURE, DYNAMICAL EVOLUTION, GALAXY CLUSTERS, EMISSION, SIMULATIONS, EXPLOSION, ACCELERATION, MORPHOLOGIES

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