Non-thermal X-ray emission from young supernova remnants

¹ Astronomical Institute, Utrecht University, PO Box 80000, 3508 TA Utrecht, The Netherlands
² FOM-Institute for Plasma Physics Rijnhuizen, PO Box 1207, 3430 BE Nieuwegein, The Netherlands

Corresponding author: E. van der Swaluw, swaluw@rijnh.nl

Received: 21 October 2003
Accepted: 8 March 2004

Abstract

The Galactic (nucleonic) cosmic-ray spectrum up to the knee ( eV) is attributed to acceleration processes that take place near the external shocks around supernova remnants (SNRs). Theoretical predictions based on the theory of diffusive shock acceleration give a similar estimate for the maximum particle energy that can be reached at these shocks:  eV. Electrons with energies  eV radiate X-ray photons in the ~G magnetic fields present in many young SNRs. These electrons near the knee give rise to a non-thermal X-ray component in the spectrum of young supernova remnants. Recent observations of SN1006 and G347.3-0.5 confirm this prediction. 
We have combined hydrodynamical calculations of the evolution of a young remnant with an algorithm that simultaneously calculates the acceleration of electrons, their radiation losses and the synchrotron spectrum of a young supernova remnant. The electrons are treated using a test-particle approximation.
We give a semi-analytical estimate of the maximum electron energy and typical synchrotron frequencies for young remnants at the end of the free-expansion stage of their evolution. We present spectra of the energy distribution of the electrons in a young supernova remnant, and construct a synchrotron map in the X-ray domain, assuming Bohm diffusion within the remnant and a shock-compressed magnetic field.