X- and Gamma-ray Studies of Cas A: Exposing Core Collapse to the Core
Astrophysics
2009-11-10 v1
Abstract
In this review of X-ray and gamma-ray observations of Cas A, evidence is discussed that Cas A was a Type Ib supernova of a Wolf-Rayet star with a main sequence mass between 22-25 Msun, that exploded after stellar wind loss had reduced its mass to ~6 Msun. The observed kinematics and the high Ti-44 yield indicate that the supernova explosion was probably assymetric, with a kinetic energy of ~2x10^51 erg.
Cite
@article{arxiv.astro-ph/0310518,
title = {X- and Gamma-ray Studies of Cas A: Exposing Core Collapse to the Core},
author = {Jacco Vink},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:astro-ph/0310518},
year = {2009}
}
Comments
6 pages, 3 figures, to be published in New Astronomy Reviews (proceedings of the Workshop "Astronomy with Radioactivities IV and Filling the Sensitivity Gap in MeV Astronomy", Seeon, Germany, May 26-30, 2003)