TY - JOUR
T1 - Discovery of outlying high-velocity oxygen-rich ejecta in Cassiopeia A
AU - Fesen, Robert A.
AU - Hammell, Molly C.
AU - Morse, Jon
AU - Chevalier, Roger A.
AU - Borkowski, Kazimierz J.
AU - Dopita, Michael A.
AU - Gerardy, Christopher L.
AU - Lawrence, Stephen S.
AU - Raymond, John C.
AU - Van Den Bergh, Sidney
PY - 2006/1/10
Y1 - 2006/1/10
N2 - Analysis of broadband HST ACS and WFPC2 images of the young Galactic supernova remnant Cassiopeia A reveals a far larger population of outlying, high-velocity knots of ejecta with a broader range of chemical properties than previously suspected. In this paper, we concentrate on a ≃ 1.5 arcmin 2 region located along the eastern limb of the remnant where we identify three main classes of outer ejecta: (1) knots dominated by [N II] λλ6548, 6583 emission, (2) knots dominated by oxygen emission lines, especially [O II] λλ7319, 7330, and (3) knots with emission-line strengths similar to the [S II]-strong fast-moving knot (FMK) ejecta commonly seen in the main emission shell. Mean transverse velocities derived from observed proper motion for N-rich, O-rich, and FMK-like knots identified in this region were found to be 8100, 7900, and 7600 km s -1, respectively. The discovery of a significant population of O-rich ejecta situated between the suspected N-rich outer photospheric layer and S-rich FMK-like ejecta suggests that the progenitor's chemical layers were not completely disrupted by the supernova explosion outside of the remnant's northeast and southwest high-velocity "jet" regions. In addition, we find the majority of O-rich outer ejecta at projected locations out beyond the remnant's fastest moving Fe-rich X-ray emission material seen in Chandra and XMM-Newton data along the eastern limb, suggesting that penetration of Fe-rich material up through the S- and Si-rich mantle did not extend past the progenitor's N- or O-rich outer layers for this section of the remnant.
AB - Analysis of broadband HST ACS and WFPC2 images of the young Galactic supernova remnant Cassiopeia A reveals a far larger population of outlying, high-velocity knots of ejecta with a broader range of chemical properties than previously suspected. In this paper, we concentrate on a ≃ 1.5 arcmin 2 region located along the eastern limb of the remnant where we identify three main classes of outer ejecta: (1) knots dominated by [N II] λλ6548, 6583 emission, (2) knots dominated by oxygen emission lines, especially [O II] λλ7319, 7330, and (3) knots with emission-line strengths similar to the [S II]-strong fast-moving knot (FMK) ejecta commonly seen in the main emission shell. Mean transverse velocities derived from observed proper motion for N-rich, O-rich, and FMK-like knots identified in this region were found to be 8100, 7900, and 7600 km s -1, respectively. The discovery of a significant population of O-rich ejecta situated between the suspected N-rich outer photospheric layer and S-rich FMK-like ejecta suggests that the progenitor's chemical layers were not completely disrupted by the supernova explosion outside of the remnant's northeast and southwest high-velocity "jet" regions. In addition, we find the majority of O-rich outer ejecta at projected locations out beyond the remnant's fastest moving Fe-rich X-ray emission material seen in Chandra and XMM-Newton data along the eastern limb, suggesting that penetration of Fe-rich material up through the S- and Si-rich mantle did not extend past the progenitor's N- or O-rich outer layers for this section of the remnant.
KW - ISM: abundances
KW - ISM: individual (Cassiopeia A)
KW - ISM: kinematics and dynamics
KW - Supernova remnants
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=32044470954&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1086/498092
DO - 10.1086/498092
M3 - Article
SN - 0004-637X
VL - 636
SP - 859
EP - 872
JO - Astrophysical Journal
JF - Astrophysical Journal
IS - 2 I
ER -