0000000000345122
AUTHOR
Manami Sasaki
Indications of a Si-rich bilateral jet of ejecta in the Vela SNR observed with XMM-Newton
Context. The Vela supernova remnant displays several ejecta, which are fragment-like features protruding beyond the front of its primary blast shock wave. They appear to be "shrapnel", bowshock-shaped relics of the supernova explosion. One of these pieces of shrapnel (A), located in the northeastern edge of the remnant, is peculiar because its X-ray spectrum exhibits a high Si abundance, in contrast to the other observed ejecta fragments, which show enhanced O, Ne, and Mg abundances. Aims. In this Letter we present the analysis of another ejecta fragment located opposite to shrapnel A with respect to the center of the shell, in the southwestern boundary of the remnant, named shrapnel G. We …
X-ray emitting structures in the Vela SNR: ejecta anisotropies and progenitor stellar wind residuals
The Vela supernova remnant (SNR) shows several ejecta fragments protruding beyond the forward shock (shrapnel). Recent studies have revealed high Si abundance in two shrapnel (A and G), located in opposite directions with respect to the SNR center. This suggests the possible existence of a Si-rich jet-counterjet structure. We analyzed an XMM-Newton observation of a bright clump, behind shrapnel G, which lies along the direction connecting A and G. The aim is to study the physical and chemical properties of this clump to ascertain whether it is part of this putative jet-like structure. We produced background-corrected and adaptively-smoothed count-rate images and median photon energy maps, a…
A White Paper on keV sterile neutrino Dark Matter
We present a comprehensive review of keV-scale sterile neutrino Dark Matter, collecting views and insights from all disciplines involved - cosmology, astrophysics, nuclear, and particle physics - in each case viewed from both theoretical and experimental/observational perspectives. After reviewing the role of active neutrinos in particle physics, astrophysics, and cosmology, we focus on sterile neutrinos in the context of the Dark Matter puzzle. Here, we first review the physics motivation for sterile neutrino Dark Matter, based on challenges and tensions in purely cold Dark Matter scenarios. We then round out the discussion by critically summarizing all known constraints on sterile neutrin…