Comparing a model of cosmic ray production in the supernova remnant RX J1713.7-3946 with observations

TL;DR

This study employs a time-dependent nonlinear kinetic model to analyze cosmic ray acceleration in supernova remnant RX J1713.7-3946, successfully reproducing observed nonthermal emissions and magnetic field amplification.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed, time-dependent model that links cosmic ray acceleration with observed emissions and magnetic field amplification in a specific supernova remnant.

Findings

Efficient cosmic ray production leads to shock modification.

Magnetic field amplification to ~100 μG explains observed X-ray filaments.

Model reproduces radio, X-ray, and gamma-ray spectra observed by H.E.S.S.

Abstract

Explicitly time-dependent, nonlinear kinetic theory of cosmic ray (CR) acceleration in supernova remnants (SNRs) has been employed to investigate the properties of SNR RX J1713.7-3946. Observations of the nonthermal radio and X-ray emission spectra as well as earlier H.E.S.S. measurements of the very high energy $\gamma$-ray emission were used to constrain the astronomical and the particle acceleration parameters of the system. The model assumes that the object was a core collapse supernova (SN) with a massive progenitor, has an age of $\approx 1600$ yr and is at a distance of $\approx 1$ kpc. It is shown that an efficient production of nuclear CRs, leading to strong shock modification and a large downstream magnetic field strength $B_{\mathrm{d}}\sim100$ $\mu$G, can reproduce the observed synchrotron emission from radio to X-ray frequencies together with the \gr spectral characteristics as observed by the H.E.S.S. telescopes. Small-scale filamentary structures observed in nonthermal X-rays provide empirical confirmation for this field amplification scenario which leads to a strong depression of the inverse Compton and Bremsstrahlung fluxes. The results are compared with the latest H.E.S.S. observations.