The Spatial and Ionization Structure of Cas A's Metal-Rich Ejecta

Details The Spatial and Ionization Structure of Cas A's Metal-Rich Ejecta The Spatial and Ionization Structure of Cas A's Metal-Rich Ejecta

Jul 2001

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2001hst..prop.9238f&link_type=abstract

HST Proposal ID #9238

Physics

Hst Proposal Id #9238

Scientific paper

Cassiopeia A {Cas A} is the prototype for the class of young, oxygen-rich SNRs containing material moving at several thousand km s^-1 and exhibiting extreme O and Si-group {Si, S, Ar, and Ca} abundances due to nuclear processing in a massive star. Several basic properties of the remnant are not well understood including shock dynamics of the ejecta, UV and optical line emission mechanisms, and the puzzling organization of its optical knots into large ring-like structures. Here we propose the first high-resolution mapping of this important remnant using WFPC2. Our goal is to survey the small-scale spatial and ionization structures in these metal-rich ejecta, then use these results to test reverse shock and CSM-interaction hydrodynamic and line emission models. We have selected filters which will permit imaging of the remnant's full +/-6000 km s^-1 expansion velocity in both high and low ionization emission lines of sulfur and oxygen. These data will provide spatial information at scales down to 0.001 pc and distinguish oxygen from sulfur rich emission knots and filaments. Because Cas A's ejecta knots have large proper motions of 0.2''-0.5'' yr^-1 and exhibit significant structural changes on timescales of just a few years, we would like to re-image the remnant during Cycle 10 in order to detect and measure spatial and ionization changes.

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