Abstract
We present a 1.42 deg2 mosaic of diffuse X-ray emission in the Great Nebula in Carina from the Chandra X-ray Observatory Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer camera. After removing >14,000 X-ray point sources from the field, we smooth the remaining unresolved emission, tessellate it into segments of similar apparent surface brightness, and perform X-ray spectral fitting on those tessellates to infer the intrinsic properties of the X-ray-emitting plasma. By modeling faint resolved point sources, we estimate the contribution to the extended X-ray emission from unresolved point sources and show that the vast majority of Carina's unresolved X-ray emission is truly diffuse. Line-like correlated residuals in the X-ray spectral fits suggest that substantial X-ray emission is generated by charge exchange at the interfaces between Carina's hot, rarefied plasma and its many cold neutral pillars, ridges, and clumps.
Original language | English (US) |
---|---|
Article number | 15 |
Journal | Astrophysical Journal, Supplement Series |
Volume | 194 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - May 2011 |
Keywords
- H ii regions
- X-rays: ISM
- X-rays: individual (Carina)
- X-rays: stars
- stars: massive
- stars: winds, outflows
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Astronomy and Astrophysics
- Space and Planetary Science