Schedule Feb 10, 2006
How to Build a Time Machine: Interfacing Hydrodynamics, Ionization Calculations and X-ray Spectral Codes for Supernova Remnants
Carlos Badenes (Rutgers)

Thanks to Chandra and XMM-Newton, spatially resolved spectroscopy of SNRs in the X-ray band has become a reality. Several impressive data sets for ejecta-dominated SNRs can now be found in the archives, the Cas A VLP just being one (albeit probably the most spectacular) example. However, it is often hard to establish quantitative, unambiguous connections between the X-ray observations of SNRs and the dramatic events involved in a core collapse or thermonuclear SN explosion. The reason for this is that the very high quality of the data sets generated by Chandra and XMM for the likes of Cas A, SNR 292.0+1.8, Tycho, and SN 1006 has surpassed our ability to analyze them. The core of the problem is in the transient nature of the plasmas in SNRs, which results in anintimate relationship between the structure of the ejecta and AM, the SNR dynamics arising from their interaction, and the ensuing X-ray emission. Thus, the ONLY way to understand the X-ray observations of ejecta-dominated SNRs at all levels, from the spatially integrated spectra to the subarcsecond scales that can be resolved by Chandra, is to couple hydrodynamic simulations to nonequilibrium ionization (NEI) calculations and X-ray spectral codes. I will review the basic ingredients that enter this kind of calculations, and what are the prospects for using them to understand the X-ray emission from the shocked ejecta in young SNRs. This understanding (when it is possible), can turn SNRs into veritable time machines, revealing the secrets of the titanic explosions that generated them hundreds of years ago.

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