Study of Nonthermal Emission from SNR RX J1713.7–3946 with Suzaku

By Takaaki Tanaka, Y. Uchiyama, F. Aharonian, Tadayuki Takahashi, A. Bamba, J. Hiraga, J. Kataoka, T. Kishishita, M. Kokubun, K. Mori and 4 more. 2008

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We present results obtained from a series of observations of the supernova remnant RX J1713.7–3946 by Suzaku. Hard X-rays have been detected up to ~40 keV. The hard X-ray spectra are described by a power law with photon indices of ~3.0, which is larger than those below 10 keV. The combination of the spatially integrated XIS and HXD spectra clearly reveals a spectral cutoff which is linked to the maximum energy of accelerated electrons. The broadband coverage of Suzaku allows us to derive, for the first time, the energy spectrum of parent electrons in the cutoff region. The cutoff energy in the X-ray spectrum indicates that the electron acceleration in the remnant proceeds close to the Bohm diffusion limit. We discuss the implications of the spectral and morphological properties of the Suzaku data in the context of the origin of nonthermal emission. The Suzaku X-ray and H.E.S.S. gamma-ray data together hardly can be explained within a pure leptonic scenario. Moreover, the leptonic models require a weak magnetic field, which is inconsistent with the recently discovered X-ray filamentary structures and their short-term variability. The hadronic models with strong magnetic fields provide reasonable fits to the observed spectra, but require special arrangements of parameters to explain the lack of thermal X-ray emission. For morphology studies, we compare the X-ray and TeV gamma-ray surface brightness. We confirm the previously reported strong correlation between X-rays and TeV gamma rays. At the same time, the Suzaku data reveal a deviation from the general tendency, namely, the X-ray emission in the western rims appears brighter than expected from the average X-ray to gamma-ray ratio.

Subfields: Astronomy and Astrophysics, Nuclear and High Energy Physics

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/5109dd5d7a1a957a375d1eeafadf642b002ce854

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Citations in the corpus

OBSERVATIONS OF THE YOUNG SUPERNOVA REMNANT RX J1713.7−3946 WITH THE FERMI LARGE AREA TELESCOPE (2011, methodology): “Its X-ray57 emission shows a featureless spectrum interpreted to be completely dominated by X-ray58 synchrotron emission from ultra-relativistic electrons (Koyama et al. 1997; Slane et al. 1999;59 Tanaka et al. 2008).”
EFFICIENT COSMIC RAY ACCELERATION, HYDRODYNAMICS, AND SELF-CONSISTENT THERMAL X-RAY EMISSION APPLIED TO SUPERNOVA REMNANT RX J1713.7–3946 (2010, methodology): “This, and the fact that the various models that have been applied to RX J1713.”
TOWARD UNDERSTANDING THE COSMIC-RAY ACCELERATION AT YOUNG SUPERNOVA REMNANTS INTERACTING WITH INTERSTELLAR CLOUDS: POSSIBLE APPLICATIONS TO RX J1713.7−3946 (2011, background): “…the magnetic field strength can be as large as B∼ 1 mG, and the thickness of the X-ray filaments indicates B∼ 100 µG around the shock front (Ballet 2006, Uchiyama et al. 2007, Tanaka et al. 2008, Acero et al. 2009), which is similar to other young SNRs (Vink & Laming 2003, Bamba et al. 2003, 2005).”
Magnetic Fields in Supernova Remnants and Pulsar-Wind Nebulae (2011, unknown): “3-0.5 [to 40 keV], Tanaka et al. 2008; and Tycho [to 30 keV], Tamagawa et al. 2009).”
NONTHERMAL RADIATION OF YOUNG SUPERNOVA REMNANTS: THE CASE OF RX J1713.7−3946 (2010, methodology): “7−3946 in a broad energy interval from 0.4 to 40 keV are well fitted by these spectra (Uchiyama et al. 2007; Tanaka et al. 2008).”
Broad-band non-thermal emission from molecular clouds illuminated by cosmic rays from nearby supernova remnants (2009, background): “However, this argument is not robust given the uncertainties related to the heating of electrons at shocks, and it has been strongly questioned (Tanaka et al. 2008; Morlino et al. 2008; Völk et al. 2008; Gabici 2008; Drury et al. 2008).”