The Role of Diffusive Shock Acceleration on Non-Equilibrium Ionization in Supernova Remnants

Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy

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Scientific paper

We present new model simulations which show clear evidence for changes in the non-equilibrium ionization behind a supernova remnant forward shock undergoing efficient diffusive shock acceleration. The efficient acceleration of particles (i.e., cosmic rays) lowers the shock temperature and raises the density of the shocked gas, thus altering the ionization state of the plasma in comparison to the test-particle approximation where cosmic rays gain an insignificant fraction of the shock energy. The differences between the test-particle and efficient acceleration cases are substantial: in cases of higher efficiency, particular ion states are more populated at lower electron temperatures. We also present results which show that in the efficient shock acceleration case, higher ionization fractions are reached immediately behind the shock front, relative to those in the test particle case. We attribute this to the higher postshock densities which lead to higher ionization rates. We show that these spatial differences are resolvable with current and future X-ray missions, and can be used as diagnostics in estimating the acceleration efficiency in cosmic--ray modified shocks in Galactic supernova remnants such as Tycho and Cassiopeia A.

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