High-Resolution Imaging of Ejecta Knots in the Cassiopeia A SNR

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Hst Proposal Id #7406 Stellar Ejecta

Scientific paper

The Cassiopeia A supernova remnant {SN eq1680 AD} exhibits optical emissions strong in O, S, Ar, and N lines indicating metal-rich ejecta and a high mass progenitor {>= 15 M_odot}. The remnant's highest velocity ejecta {V = 7, 000 - 13, 000 km s^-1} consist of small, unresolved knots outside the main emission shell. These include fast-moving, nitrogen-rich knots and a well defined ``jet'' of O + S rich ejecta. Because many of these are moving nearly in the plane of the sky, they show relatively low radial velocities permitting the use of HST's narrow passband filters. This makes possible high-resolution images to investigate the spatial structure of a young SNR's high-velocity ejecta. We propose taking WFPC2 images of several of Cas A's high-velocity knots including ones from both the progenitor's outer {N-rich} and core {O+S rich} layers. Our goal is to better understand the structure and evolution of ejecta in young SNRs. These images should reveal ejecta structures down to spatial scales of 10^16 cm as well as any shock ionization features. Of particular interest is the nature of several knots which show elongated shapes or faint, clumpy trailing emission which could be evidence of mass ablation due to the interaction with ambient circumstellar/interstellar medium.

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