Magnetars have gained favour as the engines of extreme supernova (SN)explosions, but direct observational evidence is lacking. A uniquecharacteristic of a magnetar engine is non-thermal X-ray emission a few yearsafter the explosion. This has so far eluded unambiguous detection due to theextremely high absorption by the ejecta itself before it expands sufficiently,and the rapid decay of the magnetar luminosity. To balance this trade-off, wepropose to observe a small sample of SNe at intermediate epochs when the ejectaare expected to become transparent to soft X-rays. This allows us to detect orconstrain the properties of the magnetar and shed light onto the engines ofthese extreme SNe.
Instrument
EMOS1, EMOS2, EPN, OM, RGS1, RGS2
Temporal Coverage
2021-08-29T12:48:35Z/2021-08-29T20:35:15Z
Version
19.16_20210326_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, Mr Dennis Alp, 2022, 'Uncovering the engines of engine-driven supernovae', 19.16_20210326_1200, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.57780/esa-shlgeer
