ASCA Discovery of Diffuse 6.4 keV Emission Near the Sgr C Complex: A New X-ray Reflection Nebula
Abstract
We present an ASCA discovery of diffuse hard X-ray emission from the Sgr C complex with its peak in the vicinity of the molecular cloud core. The X-ray spectrum is characterized by a strong 6.4-keV line and large absorption. These properties suggest that Sgr C is a new X-ray reflection nebula which emits fluorescent and scattered X-rays via irradiation from an external X-ray source. We found no adequately bright source in the immediate Sgr C vicinity to fully account for the fluorescence. The irradiating source may be the Galactic nucleus Sgr A*, which was brighter in the past than it is now as is suggested from observations of the first X-ray reflection nebula Sgr B2.
Cite
@article{arxiv.astro-ph/0012310,
title = {ASCA Discovery of Diffuse 6.4 keV Emission Near the Sgr C Complex: A New X-ray Reflection Nebula},
author = {H. Murakami and K. Koyama and M. Tsujimoto and Y. Maeda and M. Sakano},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:astro-ph/0012310},
year = {2009}
}
Comments
10 pages, 2 figures, AAS LaTeX, To be published in The Astrophysical Journal