Spatial Distribution of Metal Emissions in SNR 3C 397 Viewed with Chandra and XMM
Abstract
We present X-ray equivalent width imaging of the supernova remnant (SNR) 3C 397 for Mg Heα, Si Heα, S Heα, and Fe Kα complex lines with the Chandra and XMM-Newton observations. The images reveal that the heavier the element is, the smaller the extent of the element distribution is. The Mg emission is evidently enhanced in the southeastern blow-out region, well along the radio boundary there, and appears to partially envelope the eastern Fe knot. Two bilateral hat-like Si line-emitting structures are along the northern and southern borders, roughly symmetric with respect to the southeast-northwest elongation axis. An S line-emitting shell is located just inner to the northern radio and IR shell, indicating of a layer of reversely shocked sulphur in the ejecta. A few enhanced Fe features are basically aligned along the diagonal of the rectangular shape of the SNR, which implicates an early asymmetric SN explosion.