The 3-D X-ray Ejecta Structure of Tycho's Supernova Remnant

TL;DR

This study measures the 3-D velocities of ejecta knots in Tycho's supernova remnant using high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy and imaging, revealing detailed ejecta structure and expansion dynamics.

Contribution

First detailed 3-D velocity mapping of Tycho's ejecta knots combining Doppler shifts and proper motions, providing new insights into remnant expansion and ejecta distribution.

Findings

Ejecta knots have velocities up to ~5500 km/s.

Expansion center estimated with high precision.

Velocity distribution suggests asymmetric expansion.

Abstract

We present our velocity measurements of 59 clumpy, metal-rich ejecta knots in the supernova remnant (SNR) of SN 1572 (Tycho). We use our 450 ks Chandra High Energy Transmission Grating Spectrometer observation to measure the Doppler shift of the He-like Si K$\alpha$ line-center wavelength emitted from these knots to find their line-of-sight (radial) velocities ($v_r$). We find $v_r$ up to $\sim$ 5500 km s$^{-1}$, with roughly consistent speeds between blueshifted and redshifted ejecta knots. We also measure the proper motions (PMs) for our sample based on archival Chandra Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer data taken from 2003, 2009, and 2015. We estimate PMs up to 0$"$.35 yr$^{-1}$, which corresponds to a transverse velocity of about 5800 km s$^{-1}$ for the distance of 3.5 kpc to Tycho. Our $v_r$ and transverse velocity measurements imply space velocities of $\sim$ 1900 - 6000 km s$^{-1}$ for the ejecta knots in Tycho. We estimate a new expansion center of R.A.(J2000) = 00$^h$25$^m$18$^s$.725 $\pm$ 1$^s$.157 and decl.(J2000) = +64$^{\circ}$08$'$02$"$.5 $\pm$ 11$"$.2 from our PM measurements, consistent to within $\sim$ 13$"$ of the geometric center. The distribution of space velocities throughout the remnant suggests that the southeast quadrant generally expands faster than the rest of the SNR. We find that blueshifted knots are projected more in the northern shell, while redshifted knots are more in the southern shell. The previously estimated reverse shock position is consistent with most of our estimated ejecta distribution, however some ejecta show deviations from the 1-D picture of the reverse shock.