Laboratory Simulation of Charge Exchange-Produced X-ray Emission from Comets
P. Beiersdorfer,1*
K. R. Boyce,2
G. V. Brown,2
H. Chen,1
S. M. Kahn,3
R. L. Kelley,2
M. May,1
R. E. Olson,4
F. S. Porter,2
C. K. Stahle,2
W. A. Tillotson2
In laboratory experiments using the engineering spare microcalorimeter
detector from the ASTRO-E satellite mission, we recorded the
x-ray emission of highly charged ions of carbon, nitrogen, and
oxygen, which simulates charge exchange reactions between heavy
ions in the solar wind and neutral gases in cometary comae.
The spectra are complex and do not readily match predictions.
We developed a charge exchange emission model that successfully
reproduces the soft x-ray spectrum of comet Linear C/1999 S4,
observed with the Chandra X-ray Observatory.
2 NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 662, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA.
3 Department of Physics, Columbia University, 538 West 120th Street, New York, NY 10027, USA.
4 University of Missouri–Rolla, Department of Physics, 1870 Miner Circle, Rolla, MO 65409, USA.
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: beiersdorfer{at}llnl.gov
