Ion-by-Ion DEM Determination: I. Method

Abstract

We describe a technique to derive constraints on the differential emission measure (DEM) distribution, a measure of the temperature distribution, of collisionally ionized hot plasmas from their X-ray emission line spectra. This technique involves fitting spectra using a number of components, each of which is the entire X-ray line emission spectrum for a single ion. It is applicable to high-resolution X-ray spectra of any collisionally ionized plasma and particularly useful for spectra in which the emission lines are broadened and blended such as those of the winds of hot stars. This method does not require that any explicit assumptions about the form of the DEM distribution be made and is easily automated.

This paper was split in two. This version is part I. Part II may be found at astro-ph/0503430

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Cited by in corpus (5)

• Mass loss from hot massive stars
• X-Ray Spectroscopy of Stars
• X-Rays From Massive OB Stars: Thermal Emission From Radiative Shocks
• The Effects of Clumps in Explaining X-ray Emission Lines from Hot Stars
• Differential Emission Measure Determination of Collisionally Ionized Plasma: II. Application to Hot Stars