XMM-Newton observations of Sagittarius A East

Abstract

We present an analysis of a recent XMM-Newton observation of Sgr A East, a supernova remnant located close to the Galactic Centre. Very high quality X-ray spectra reveal many emission lines from highly ionized atoms consistent with a multi-temperature thin thermal plasma in ionization equilibrium. We use a two-temperature model to fit the spectra and derive temperatures of 1 keV and 4 keV. There is significant concentration of iron towards the centre of the X-ray source such that the iron abundance varies from ~4 times solar in the core down to ~0.5 solar in the outer regions, which contrasts with the rather uniform distribution of other metals such as sulfur, argon and calcium, which have abundances in the range 1--3. The derived total energy, mass, and the abundance pattern are consistent with a single supernova event, either of type-Ia or type-II origin, involving a relatively low-mass progenitor star. A weak 6.4-keV neutral iron fluorescence line is also detected, the illumination source most likely being Sgr A East itself. The morphology and spectral characteristics of Sgr A East show no clear linkage to putative past activity in Sgr A*.

arXiv comment12 pages, 8 figures, to appear in MNRAS, figures with full resolution available at http://www.star.le.ac.uk/~mas/research/paper/#Sakano2003mnras

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• Discovery of a 3.5 keV line in the Galactic Center and a Critical Look at the Origin of the Line Across Astronomical Targets
• Chemical Abundances of Luminous Cool Stars in the Galactic Center from High-Resolution Infrared Spectroscopy
• The chemical abundances in the Galactic Centre from the atmospheres of Red Supergiants
• Traces of past activity in the Galactic Centre
• A Persistent High-Energy Flux from the Heart of the Milky Way : Integral's view of the Galactic Center
• Interstellar gas within $\sim 10$ pc of Sgr A${}^{\ast }$
• Concurrent X-ray, near-infrared, sub-millimeter, and GeV gamma-ray observations of Sgr A*
• A Catalog of Diffuse X-ray-Emitting Features within 20 pc of Sgr A*: Twenty Pulsar Wind Nebulae?
• Asymmetric Type-Ia supernova origin of W49B as revealed from spatially resolved X-ray spectroscopic study
• A Candidate Neutron Star Associated with Galactic Center Supernova Remnant Sagittarius A East
• Discoveries of Diffuse Iron Line Sources from the Sgr B Region
• The X-ray outburst of the Galactic Centre magnetar SGR J1745-2900 during the first 1.5 year
• Unusual X-ray transients in the Galactic Centre
• Unbound Debris Streams and Remnants Resulting From the Tidal Disruptions of Stars by Supermassive Black Holes
• Diffuse X-Ray Sky in the Galactic Center
• Progenitor Mass Distribution of Core-Collapse Supernova Remnants in Our Galaxy and Magellanic Clouds based on Elemental Abundances
• The Metal-enriched Thermal Composite Supernova Remnant Kesteven 41 (G337.8-0.1) in a Molecular Environment
• The Sgr B2 X-ray Echo of the Galactic Center Supernova Explosion that Produced Sgr A East
• Chemical abundances in Sgr A East: evidence for a Type Iax supernova remnant
• High-Energy X-rays from J174545.5-285829, the Cannonball: A Candidate Pulsar Wind Nebula Associated with Sgr A East
• XMM-Newton observations of the Galactic Centre Region - II: The soft thermal emission
• X-ray spectra of Sgr A East and diffuse X-ray background near the Galactic center
• The X-ray footprint of the CircumNuclear Disk
• Heating the intergalactic medium by radiative decay of neutrinos
• Atomic Carbon in the Central Molecular Zone of the Milky Way : Possible Cosmic-ray Induced Chemistry or Time-Dependent Chemistry Associated with SNR Sagittarius A East
• Observational evidences for the existence of 17.4 keV decaying degenerate sterile neutrinos near the Galactic Center
• Hydrodynamic Evolution of Sgr A East: The Imprint of A Supernova Remnant in the Galactic Center
• The contribution of young core-collapse supernova remnants to the X-ray emission near quiescent supermassive black holes
• Decaying Sterile Neutrinos as a Heating Source in the Milky Way Center
• Can decaying sterile neutrinos account for all dark matter?
• Indirect evidence of GeV Dark Matter
• High Energy Activity of the Super-Massive Black Hole at the Galactic Center
• High Energy Emission from the Galactic Center