Identifying XMM-Newton observations affected by solar wind charge exchange - Part I

Abstract

We describe a method for identifying XMM-Newton observations that have been affected by Solar Wind Charge Exchange (SWCX) emission and present preliminary results of previously unidentified cases of such emission within the XMM-Newton Science Archive. The method is based on detecting temporal variability in the diffuse X-ray background. We judge the variability of a low energy band, taken to represent the key indicators of charge exchange emission. We compare this to the variability of a continuum band, which is expected to be non-varying, even in the case when SWCX enhancement has occurred. We discuss previously published results with SWCX contamination that have been tested with the above method. We present a selection of observations that we consider to show previously unpublished SWCX enhancements, and further investigate these observations for correlation with data from the solar wind observatory, ACE. We also consider the geometry and viewing angle of XMM-Newton at the time of the observation to examine the origin of the charge exchange emission, whether it be from interactions with geocoronal neutrals in Earth's magnetosheath or from the heliosphere and heliopause.

14 pages, 13 figures, accepted Astronomy and Astrophysics July 2008, high resolution images can be found at: http://www.star.le.ac.uk/~jac48/publications/var_swcx_aa.pdf

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• A Catalog of Galaxy Clusters Observed by XMM-Newton
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• Chandra Observations of the "Dark" Moon and Geocoronal Solar-Wind Charge Transfer
• A study of Jupiter's aurorae with XMM-Newton
• Discovery of X-rays from Mars with Chandra
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• Solar Wind Charge Exchange: An Astrophysical Nuisance
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• The Milky Way's Hot Gas Kinematics: Signatures in Current and Future OVII Absorption Line Observations
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• Soft X-Ray Imaging of Magnetopause Reconnection Outflows Under Low Plasma-$\beta$ Solar Wind Conditions
• X-ray and optical analysis of the distant, merging double cluster SPT-CLJ2228-5828, its gas bridge, and shock front
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• Signatures of large-scale cold fronts in the optically-selected merging cluster HSC J085024+001536