X-ray polarization detection of Cassiopeia A with IXPE

TL;DR

This paper reports the first detection of polarized X-ray emission from Cassiopeia A using IXPE, revealing a low polarization degree and magnetic field reorientation near shocks, providing insights into magnetic turbulence and particle acceleration.

Contribution

First detection of X-ray polarization in Cassiopeia A, showing magnetic field reorientation and turbulence at small scales near shocks.

Findings

Detected ~1.8% polarization degree in 3-6 keV X-rays.

Polarization angle indicates a radially-oriented magnetic field.

X-ray polarization degree is lower than radio, implying magnetic field reorientation.

Abstract

We report on a $\sim 5\sigma$ detection of polarized 3-6 keV X-ray emission from the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A with the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE). The overall polarization degree of $1.8 \pm 0.3$% is detected by summing over a large region, assuming circular symmetry for the polarization vectors. The measurements imply an average polarization degree for the synchrotron component of $\sim 2.5$%, and close to 5% for the X-ray synchrotron-domimated forward-shock region. These numbers are based on an assessment of the thermal and non-thermal radiation contributions, for which we used a detailed spatial-spectral model based on Chandra X-ray data. A pixel-by-pixel search for polarization provides a few tentative detections from discrete regions at the $\sim 3\sigma$ confidence level. Given the number of pixels, the significance is {insufficient} to claim a detection for individual pixels, but implies considerable turbulence on scales smaller than the angular resolution. Cas A's X-ray continuum emission is dominated by synchrotron radiation from regions within $\lesssim 10^{17}$ cm of the forward- and reverse shocks. We find that i) the measured polarization angle corresponds to a radially-oriented magnetic field, similar to what has been inferred from radio observations; ii) the X-ray polarization degree is lower than in the radio band ($\sim 5$%). Since shock compression should impose a tangential magnetic field structure, the IXPE results imply that magnetic-fields are reoriented within $\sim 10^{17}$cm of the shock. If the magnetic-field alignment is due to locally enhanced acceleration near quasi-parallel shocks, the preferred X-ray polarization angle suggests a size of $3\times 10^{16}$ cm for cells with radial magnetic fields.