X-rays from accelerated ion interactions

Vincent Tatischeff*, Reuven Ramaty, Benzion Kozlovsky

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

28 Scopus citations

Abstract

We have developed in detail the theory of X-ray line and continuum production due to atomic interactions of accelerated ions, incorporating in our calculations information from a broad range of laboratory measurements. We applied our calculations to the Orion region from which nuclear gamma-ray line observations with the COMPTEL instrument on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO) were reported. The accelerated particles which produce this gamma-ray emission via nuclear reactions also produce X-ray lines via atomic interactions. We predict strong, relatively broad line emission in the range from 0.5 to 1 keV, mainly due to de-excitations in fast O ions. Current ROSAT observations of Orion do not provide unambiguous signatures for X-ray production by accelerated ions. However, if future X-ray observations with high spectral resolution would confirm the predicted X-rays, the combined analysis of the X-ray and gamma-ray data will set important constraints on the origin of the accelerated particles and their interaction model.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)874-888
Number of pages15
JournalAstrophysical Journal
Volume504
Issue number2 PART I
DOIs
StatePublished - 1998

Keywords

  • Acceleration of particles
  • Amma rays: theory
  • ISM: individual (Orion)
  • Line: formation
  • Tomic processes
  • X-rays: general

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