The Galactic Centre Region emits a strong 6.7-keV line attributable to Kaemission of He-like iron, of which the origin has remained a puzzle since itsdiscovery. Arguably, recent Chandra results imply that the line is produced in ahot extended plasma. However, we have shown that the line has a relativelysmooth, circularly symmetric distribution centred on Sgr A* and a surfacebrightness which falls off with radius as 1/r over the range r=3.-12. Thismirrors the distribution of the stellar population and adds strong support tothe hypothesis that the 6.7-keV line originates in the summed emission of faintpoint sources. Here we propose to measure the surface brightness distribution ofthe 6.7-keV line out to a radius of virgul35. as a test of the competing scenarios for its origin.
Instrument
EMOS1, EMOS2, EPN, OM, RGS1, RGS2
Temporal Coverage
2008-03-09T23:44:18Z/2008-03-10T08:36:15Z
Version
17.56_20190403_1200
Mission Description
The European Space Agencys (ESA) X-ray Multi-Mirror Mission (XMM-Newton) was launched by an Ariane 504 on December 10th 1999. XMM-Newton is ESAs second cornerstone of the Horizon 2000 Science Programme. It carries 3 high throughput X-ray telescopes with an unprecedented effective area, and an optical monitor, the first flown on a X-ray observatory. The large collecting area and ability to make long uninterrupted exposures provide highly sensitive observations. Since Earths atmosphere blocks out all X-rays, only a telescope in space can detect and study celestial X-ray sources. The XMM-Newton mission is helping scientists to solve a number of cosmic mysteries, ranging from the enigmatic black holes to the origins of the Universe itself. Observing time on XMM-Newton is being made available to the scientific community, applying for observational periods on a competitive basis.
European Space Agency, Dr Masaaki Sakano, 2009, 'The 6.7 keV-line emission in the Galactic Centre', 17.56_20190403_1200, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-20kxbih
